- Sanskriti Media & Entertainment
Indian Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor smiles during a press conference for Sony Vaio laptops in Mumbai. (AFP)
It is known that whenever a star does not want to work in a movie, he or she puts up sich a huge signboard demanding a bomb that filmmakers run away.
But then KC Bokadia did pay Amitabh Bachchan Rs 4.5 crore to work in that silly film called Lal Badshah and Kareena Kapoor was paid Rs 2.5 crore by Pahalaj Nihalani to work in his even sillier film Talaash.
And now years later when Kareena has decided not to work in Madhur Bhandarkar's film Heroine, initially by refusing the film and then asking for changes when he came to her with the film post Ash's pregnancy, Bebo has put up a signboard saying approximately Dh8 million (Rs10 crore).
And in response, UTV and Madhur Bhandarkar are contemplating whether to go ahead with her or not. The idea is not whether the film can recover enough money, but also whether they should succumb to such a demand or not.
When Aishwarya Rai got pregnant, the film Heroine was almost aborted. Kareena seemed to be the only option with someone like Katrina Kaif being too young for the role. Rani Mukherji and Vidya Balan ' two options suggested by UTV were turned down by Bhandarkar.
Kareena Kapoor has an important reason why she needs to be paid that sum. She has been offered an interesting role of Mandakini by Ekta Kapoor and Balaji in their sequel to the film Once Upon a Time in Mumbai. Akshay Kumar has been cast in the film and Kareena is to be signed. Bebo is waiting for UTV to make her a fat offer before she jumps on to the Balaji deal.
"Kareena has always made the right moves in her career. So whether her films have worked or not, she has remained glamorous and right on top and her market has never been affected and hence the price," says the source.
In the meantime Bebo is busy with Saif Ali Khan, working with Chhote Nawab two hours away from Mumbai shooting for Agent Vinod. Designer Manish Malhotra has been working to make her look ultra glamourous in the movie.
Will the Heroine pick up the Balaji Ka Bioscope or will she make sure that her career will be determined only by Beboji Ka Bioscope, remains to be seen.
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