Star bucks - article

The small screen is proving to be a lucrative option for many of our top TV stars if the mega moolah they make make is anything to go by! And serials are not all. stars are cashing in on their popularity big time and making quick bucks on everything they can lay their hands on, be it endorsements or stage shows. With TV shows working on the lines of mega budgets, lavish sets and garnering TRPs one couldn't imagine a couple of years ago, the stars' paychecks too are getting fatter by the day.

The actress commanding the highest price in the saas bahu genre was Smriti Malhotra Irani for her serial Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhie Bahu Thi. Industry sources reveal that the actress used to make a cool Rs 50,000 per day, and she shot for 20 days per month. but now she works only in her own productions and plays, which adds to her bank balance. Smriti however, doesn't like discussing financial issues. "Well, I don't discuss my payments, but I have been able to strike a rapport with the audience in the last six years of being on television because of my well-defined character and spontaneity as an actress."

another actress who is in the big league as far as money is concerned is Sakshi Tanwar aka Parvati of Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii who makes Rs 35,000 per day. Shveta Tiwari too earns the same amount for her serial Kasautii Zindagi Kay. Prachi Desai of Kasamh Se follows close, earning Rs 30,000 per day while both the bombshells of TV, Sangeeta Ghosh and Urvashi Dholakia, take home a good Rs 30,000 per day for their shows.

Sangeeta Ghosh says, "A daily show means a lot of money becuase the stress and work hours are equally killing. I am not complaining. Initially, I had apprehensions about doing a daily show but after working with producer Ravi Chopra for Viraasat, I realised how to deal with it as we made sure we had a bank of episodes."

Ronit Roy who also has a security guard agency makes a fixed Rs 15 lakh a month for working in two shows Kyunki... and Kasamh Se. And Ronit is unabashed about it. "Money is important to me as it is required for survival. I splurge on my family and buy all the expensive things for them. But I never have time to spend money on myself. I work 14-15 hours a day and spend close to Rs 1,500 to 2,000 per day on petrol, food etc."

Brother Rohit Roy on the other hand makes a killing by earning Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000 per day. But Rohit cuts down on work, acting in just one show at a time. He says, "My policy is not to over-expose myself, which is why I have never done more than one serial at a time in my 10-year-old TV career. Right now I am looking at films but if something great happens on tv I surely will take it up."

Shekhar Suman too reportedly makes a cool Rs 30,000 per episode of Pol Khol on Star News and Rs 1.5 lakhs per episode as a judge on Great Indian Laughter challenge. Says Shekhar, "You can burn out easily on television. So I have always attempted different genres, be it Dekh Bhai Dekh, or a talk show Movers & Shakers or Great Indian Laughter Challenge." The hot new stars of TV — Ram Kapoor, Iqbal Khan, Eijaz Khan, Hiten Tejwani, Rajeev Khandelwal — get Rs 30,000 to 40,000 per day while an average actor or an absolute newcomer, like the ones we see in every generation leap, gets about Rs 5,000 per day.

models like Chetan Hansraj and Akashdeep Saigal get a better edge, making Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per day from Balaji, which is the same for actresses like Achint Kaur, Apara Mehta, Reva Babbar, Sudha Shivpuri. It might be lesser than the others but is good enough nevertheless. The pay scale is different again for dance shows and other reality shows like Nach Baliye and Jhalak Dhikla Jaa. the channels pay the stars close to Rs 16 lakh to 20 lakh for participation alone, depending on their status. And with each round they clear, they are paid upto Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. The winner of course walks away with the grand prize which is usually Rs 50 lakh.

The bigger names on small screen who host their own talk shows, like a Karan Johar for example, have contracts running in crores of rupees as channels are in a race to cash in on their image. One cannot forget the moolah involved in stage shows, endorsements and inaugurations. even a Sudha Shivpuri aka Ba from Kyunki demands Rs 2 lakh for inaugurating a showroom. No wonder then that she tirelessly plays the same role day in, day out!