ASH Arjun Madhur take a pay cut for HEROINE

The first half of the year has not been too fruitful for the Hindi film industry. At least, not financially. While lots of films have got critical acclaim, starting with the January release No One Killed Jessica, a mass entertainer was missing from the Bollywood calendar.

Yamla Pagla Deewana,Tanu Weds Manu and Dil Toh Bachchan Ha Ji were probably the only films that could rake in a decent amount of money.

To make their film a viable option in such a scenario, UTV Motion Pictures along with Bhandarkar Entertainment, director Madhur Bhandarkar and the lead stars of Heroine have taken a conscious decision to stick to a budget of Rs 18 crore.

Bhandarkar is known for keeping a tight leash on the budget of his ventures so far, Fashion being made in less than Rs 15 crore. However, with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the lead along with Arjun Rampal and three stars yet to be signed for the venture, keeping within a budget of Rs 18 crore is going to be tough. "Every actor including Aishwarya Rai, Arjun Rampal and even Madhur Bhandarkar himself have slashed their fee," explained a source.

"It's a sensible business decision. Ash and Arjun will be sharing the profits of the film. They are confident of Heroine's prospects at the box office," told the source.

"We have worked very successfully with Madhur in the past. Getting a film made within the right budget is crucial to insuring its commercial success. On Heroine too, we have insured the same," said Siddharth Roy Kapoor, CEO, UTV Motion Pictures.

Heroine, announced at Cannes a few days ago, is slated to go on floors on June 8.

Meanwhile...

Subhash Ghai helps in cutting costs by releasing two films as one on June 10.

He is releasing two of his production Cycle Kick and Love Express featuring students from his school Whistling Woods acting school together as a two-in-one feature film. "So essentially audiences can watch two films at the ticket-price of one film," explained Ghai, adding, "It is generally felt that the smaller films do not offer the audience enough incentive to pay so much. So I am offering them two films at the price of one." — SKJ