Rajini can,Akshay cant
Distributors cite the superstars example,demand compensation from Akki for Jokers failure at the BO
Bharti Dubey mirrorfeedback@indiatimes.com
He may have distanced himself from Joker,sealing its fate at the box office,but Akshay Kumar is now being pulled up for what distributors are labelling as unprofessional behaviour.With Joker tanking at the box office,distributors across the country are demanding compensation from Akshay,who was a co-producer for the film,for their losses.
Reportedly,the film cost around Rs 55cr,satellite rights were sold for about Rs 14 cr and the estimated losses amount to Rs 20cr.Trade analyst Suniel Wadhwa said,The film was discontinued after the first week due to non-performance.Most distributors have lost nearly 60 per cent of their money.''
Distributor Sunny Khanna,told Mirror,The brand lost only because of Akshays unprofessional behaviour and I definitely want compensation from him.He should learn from Emraan Hashmi,who is ready to promote an old film like Rush.Had Akshay promoted Joker,the films business wouldve gone up by 40 per cent.
South India-based distributor cited the example of Rajinikanth and said Akshay should refund the money the way Rajini did when his films flopped at the BO.Readers may recall that Rajini had agreed to pay back theatres 33 per cent of the amount for which his film Kuselan was sold in the Tamil Nadu territory.He also repaid distributors the money after another film Baba flopped.Ramesh Vyas,who distributed Joker in the CI (Central India) Circuit was of the same opinion.
Delhi-based distributor Sanjay Ghai however said,If anyone has to compensate for our losses,it has to be UTV.Besides,distributors knew the fate of the film.One expected the film to have a good opening with Akshay riding high on Rowdy Rathore,which unfortunately did not happen.
Despite repeated attempts,Akshay remained unavailable for comment.
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