Posted:
With many big-budget films not doing well at the box office this year, a few leading men are making amends to their remuneration.
Akshay Kumar has decided to take a cut for his next. He has decided to take a percentage of the profit, subject to realisation. A senior producer says, on condition of anonymity, that if Akshay hadn't taken the cut, the film would have never been made.
Saif Ali Khan opted out of Reema Kagti's next, as the producers, Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani, had allegedly refused to cough up the remuneration he asked for. However, after a few flops like Humshakals (2014) and Happy Ending, he decided to slash his fee. He is not only taking a pay cut for Vishal Bhardwaj's next, but also for Ekta Kapoor's ambitious project based on the book, The Devotion Of Suspect X, and Ramesh Taurani's next instalment of the Race franchise.
Trade analyst Amod Mehra says, "Saif and Akshay have reduced their fees. Let's not call it pay cut. We should call it correction. I'm glad that stars have realised that they were overvaluing themselves, and making their films commercially unviable."
Even distributor Ramesh Sippy feels this is a very positive move."One wonders if Hrithik Roshan and Ranbir Kapoor will follow suit. Hrithik had charged 30 crore for Bang Bang (2014). Now, he has upped it with Ashutosh Gowarikar's next, for which he is being paid 50 crore. Ranbir Kapoor charged 32 crore for Bombay Velvet, in addition to his share in profits. Surely, he can't justify the hefty pay packet considering the film has been a washout. Interestingly, the film's collections till date approx 25 crore have been lesser than Ranbir's pay cheque," says Sippy.
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