Posted:
Akshay Kumar slashes fees by half
DC | Mehul S. Thakkar | January 30, 2015, 23.01 pm IST Akshay Kumar
Mumbai: Akshay Kumar seems to be losing his Midas touch. The actor has had a poor run at the box office the past few times. His latest release Baby, even with its content in place, failed to raise the expected moolah at the box office.
To ensure that his future endeavours aren't as much of a raw deal for his filmmakers, Akshay has planned to amend his pay structure since an actor is the most expensive product in a film. It is rumoured that for his next film Air Lift to be directed by Raja Krishna Menon, Akki has slashed his fees by 50 per cent.
A source said, "Akshay is a very sensible businessman. He will never want any of his filmmakers to suffer loses. He usually charges Rs 25 crores for a film (including Baby), but for Air Lift, he has decided to slash it to 12.5 crores."
However, there is a catch to Akshay reducing the price. "He is cutting down his fees to make the project budget-friendly. He will now have an 80 per cent claim in the film's profit share. So this way, the producer doesn't have to pay the actor up front and the total remuneration depends on the film's performance." Akshay could lay claim to the businessman of the year award if not the best actor, perhaps?
Ajay Devgn's Shivaay shelved?
DC | Mehul S. Thakkar | January 30, 2015, 23.01 pm IST Ajay Devgn
Mumbai: Ajay Devgn and his team had left for Canada to shoot his next directorial venture Shivaay, but had to return without executing their plans due to the weather playing spoil sport. Earlier this month, Ajay had tweeted "Leaving for Poland and Canada tonight to shoot Shivaay in a freezer for 6 months."
The film, co-produced by Eros International, was to star Dilip Kumar's granddaughter Sayesha in the lead role. Says a source, "Ajay and his team had started having extensive meetings in the latter half of 2014 to discuss the film's script and logistics. In November they had gone to Canada for a recce and came back after finalising the shoot locations. Eros was in the know of course."
Heavy snowfall however, derailed the plans and the crew had to return to India. Now word is that due to the expenses incurred in ferrying the top technicians and stuntmen, the filmmakers are considering giving the project a rest for a while. "Also, if the damage control measures don't materialise as planned, the film may be shelved indefinitely," added the source.
We tried to get in touch with the Eros spokespersons, but did not receive a response.
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