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Meteoric rise in star price
SWARUPA PILLAAI
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The cinema scene has changed with entry of corporates, as they not only sign up stars for astronomical amounts, but also seal multiple film deals.
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Big bucks for mega hits: (Clockwise from top left) Rajinikanth, Ajith, Kamal Haasan, Vijay, Vikram, Suriya, Dhanush, Simbhu, Vishal, Madhavan, Sundar C and Sarath Kumar.
Rs.3 crores, Rs.5 crores, Rs.10 crores. There is no end to the meteoric rise in star prices today. In the past, even the biggest stars in the Tamil film industry made sure they were available to film producers at reasonable prices. But things have ch
anged today with the entry of corporates on the film scene.
They are not only signing up stars for astronomical amounts, they are signing multiple film deals as well. This leaves the individual producers in the dark, and very soon both will begin competing on a large scale to get hold of stars.
Says M. Saravanan of AVM, “Because of the entry of corporates into the industry, stars have started demanding a lot of money. For my current project with Suriya, we have paid him what he has asked for, but I cannot mention the amount. We felt it is viable and so went ahead with the payment…”
The highest paid actor is Rajinikanth, and his figure touches Rs. 17 crores for a venture. This seems reasonable because his films have a very big market today, as his business has reached Rs.100 crores.
Success hikes rate
Right behind him is Ajith, whose remuneration is Rs.10 crores after the stupendous success of ‘Billa.’ The actor has signed up for ‘Billa 2’ under the banner of Warner Bros. India for the mentioned amount.
‘Aascar’ Ravichandran is all too willing to discuss figures with the media. He claims, “I have paid Rs.7 crores to Kamal for ‘Dasavathaaram,’ and I have no regrets about it. My film has been sold to distributors and I have recovered the production cost.”
Says Krishnakanth of Indian Theatre Productions, “I have worked with big stars such as Vikram, Dhanush and Simbu. I do not mind paying them a lot if the story demands it. Till now no one has demanded any sort of payment from me, and I will be working with these three actors again.”
Not many actors are reasonable about their price, and the producers need to pump in money for the cost of production as well.
Says Ramesh Babu of Kanakarathna Movies, who worked with Vijay on ‘Pokiri’, “I did not have second thoughts about paying Vijay the amount he asked for. I, however, will like to remain tight-lipped about the amount, as it will not be fair to mention it to the press.”
What stars do not understand is producers, distributors and theatre owners have to recover all that they have invested in a film. No one is safe, as each has his own drawbacks when dealing with such large sums of money.
Producers sometimes after paying the star and investing huge sums in a film, fail to recover the entire amount from the distributors. They have no other choice but to face about 30 per cent deficit in the budget.
Safe bet
Sometimes, soon after a film is announced, distributors rush to the producer and pay him money in advance for area rights. The only safe bet for producers today is satellite rights, which can be sold for a good amount, as there are various television channels looking for new films with good stars.
Though the ‘A’ grade stars such as Rajinikanth, Kamal, Vijay, Vikram, Ajith and Surya have good business figures, there is still no guarantee that the money is safe for the producer. Sometimes the cost of production goes up, as in the case of the Vijay-starrer ‘Azhagiya Tamizh Magan,’ where the producer faced a loss of Rs.5 crores. This is because he had already sold the film to distributors, and had to put in extra money for a re-shoot.
It is also a fact that most stars demand part of their remuneration in cash that is not accounted for. This puts most of the producers in a fix. With more corporations coming in, it is hoped that this age-old system will vanish.
The most bankable actors today are Shah Rukh Khan and Rajinikanth. Shah Rukh Khan is also the most reasonable actor to work with, as he requests the producer for a co-production. As the actor’s market touches Rs.150 crores worldwide, the producers find this a safe bet.
The entry of corporates, has left the independent producers in a complicated position, though they are fighting to retain their banners. The smart thing they are doing is looking for tie-ups, so that they can share the cost of production as well as returns.
Actors’ salaries
Vijay charges about Rs.5 crores.
Vikram charges about Rs.4 crores.
Dhanush, Simbu, Surya and Vishal fall under the Rs.3 crores category.
Madhavan, Sundar.C and Sarath Kumar ask for about Rs.1 crore per film.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
|
