Akshay Kumar demands 1 crore per show for Bachchans' world tour
| | | | | Show Me The Money! Akshay Kumar | Now that Akshay Kumar is a consistent hit-maker, he is demanding $250,000 (approx Rs 1 crore) per show for the Bachchan world tour titled Unforgettable (organised by Wizcraft).
He has made this demand to Wizcraft CEO Viraf Sarkari who was shocked to hear it.
After all, Akshay is demanding payment equal to what both Amitabh and Abhishek would get put together (see box)!
Not justified
The latest is that negotiations are on with Akshay and should he agree, Wizcraft will not pay him more than Rs 50 lakh per show (nearly 30 shows are being planned).
A source close to Wizcraft says, "Akshay does not understand the economics. It's a sad reflection of what actors today are doing to kill shows that are a craze with the NRIs.
Astro-nomical fee demands have made these shows a losing proposition, that's why there's no show with film stars this year."
The source adds that the last two shows with Bollywood stars — Heat (SRK and friends) and Rockstar (Salman Khan, John Abraham, etc) — did not do well at all. "Today, only a show led by the Bachchans/ SRK/Hrithik Roshan can draw crowds.
The selling price of a SRK show touches $650,000 (approx Rs 2.6 crore). Akshay only commanded a crowd of 2,500 people for his performance in Heat, for which he was paid Rs 30 lakh per show," he explains.
Wizcraft director Andre Timmins covers up for Akshay. "We have no problems with Akshay. He has agreed to be part of the tour. We have a long association with him; he is like family," says Timmins.
However, Sarkari contradicts his partner by saying that they haven't finalised Akshay yet. "Our main line-up includes the Bachchans, Bipasha Basu, Lara Dutta, Riteish Deshmukh and Shiamak Davar," he says.
Viraf adds, "We cannot reveal the money being paid to the stars. We are still negotiating with Akshay. He has been busy with his shoots."
An hour later, Viraf calls to clarify, "I am in Bangalore and wasn't aware of the details. I believe Akshay has been finalised for the tour."
The buzz is that Akki has agreed to a pay cut and will get about Rs 50 lakh per show. Akshay was unavailable for comment.
| The pay-offs
| (Approximate figures paid to the stars for the tour)
Amitabh Bachchan: Rs 60 lakh
Abhishek Bachchan: Rs 50 lakh
Aishwarya Rai: Rs 35 lakh
Bipasha Basu: Rs 15 lakh
Lara Dutta: Rs 10 lakh
Riteish Deshmukh: Rs 10 lakh | | Twisted, but not out
| Bipasha Basu shoots for an item number in No Smoking in spite of a sprained ankle
| | Upala KBR
upala@mid-day.com
| | The Show Must Go On:
Bipasha Basu | On Sunday (July 29), while shootig for a song sequence for Anurag Kashyap's No Smoking, Bipasha Basu slipped and twisted her ankle.
However, the actress continued to shoot for the act.
Says producer Kumar Mangat, "Bipasha slipped on a rain-soaked cloth outside her van and twisted her ankle badly.
She was in great pain so we requested her to take a two-hour break, after which we resumed shooting."
True professional
Mangat says that in spite of boyfriend John Abraham's requests (he stars in the film), Bips refused to cancel the shoot.
"She said postponing the shoot would lead to losses. So she took painkillers and shot till 11 pm. Any other actress would have packed up and gone home."
That's not all. On Monday, they shot from 9 am to 2 am and Bipasha was there. "Her sister gave birth to a girl so she came in at 12 pm.
Even then she did not take leave. Bipasha is one of the most professional actresses I have come across," says Mangat, all praise for the actress.
Mangat adds that Ganesh Acharya is choreographing the item number with John and Bipasha. "He won an award for the first time in 14 years for the Beedi jalai le number, so the Omkara and Beedi team including Bipasha, Vishal Bhardwaj (co-producer), his wife Rekha (who has sung the number), Ganesh and myself are coming together again for this special nuber in No Smoking."
| |
Health and Fitness
Fan Fictions
Hindi TV Shows
2