This week’s blind item is by none other than Rajeev Masand. It’s not that hard at all to guess who Rajeev is talking about in his new blind. But, read on to see if you can guess for yourself.
Being Starry
The new obsession among A-listers is achieving the Rs 1,000 crore net worth target. Every one of them is in the race, reveal leading producers who complain that they’re left bearing the brunt of it. One superstar, who’s negotiated a Rs 500 crore satellite deal with a channel for all his films over the next five years, will keep that cash as his fee for the said projects.
Ironically, the same actor likes to talk about responsibility, and about not burdening a project with unreasonable salaries. Yet, as one leading filmmaker who worked with him some years ago on an ensemble romantic film explains, he’s making it hard for producers to survive in the business. This producer reveals that he paid the star Rs 4 crore for starring in his 2007 film, but the actor is demanding remuneration amounting to Rs 66 crore for a new project. Not all of it is expected upfront, but that is what the star wants to be paid for appearing in the film by the time he’s finished making it.
But he’s hardly alone. With other A-listers producing most of their new films themselves, or demanding a sizeable percentage of profits from every release, they stand to make near about the same fee from big projects. But the bubble will burst, say industry watchers who point out that in this current scenario, nobody but actors end up making money… even when their films bomb. “That’ll change quickly, because otherwise, soon you won’t have producers wanting to make any more movies,” a source explains.
OSOP Guess
One superstar: Salman Khan