Is Shahid Kapoor taking on Salman & Aamir?

• Bindu Suresh Rai

The Friday box office success usually determines the starry salaries Bollywood's finest command in the powerful corridors of marketing juggernauts that don't shy away from cutthroat tactics in signing up the hottest A-listers in multi-million-endorsement deals.

And then, there are those such as "Kaminey" star, Shahid Kapoor, who manage to throw that logic on its backend and go onto sign a Rs50 million endorsement deal after seven consecutive mediocre or outright flop films.

The 32-year-old star, whose latest box office outing was the critically-panned "Teri Meri Kahanni", has reportedly inked a deal with an Indian deodorant brand for that whopping amount.

With this deal, Kapoor, who has four film releases tentatively slated for 2013, manages to race ahead of superstar and Bollywood icon, Amitabh Bachchan, who reportedly only demands a starry salary of Rs40m for his endorsements.

Kapoor's success ratio at the box office comes nowhere close to the legend; but what's even more interesting to note is the young actor now managing to even narrow the gap further with his arch rival Salman Khan.

The older actor is rumoured to demand Rs70m for endorsements, sometimes tying up with the retail giants for profit sharing that goes towards his charitable foundation, Being Human.

In comparison, industry insiders say Khan is entitled to such astronomical sums considering his last few outings at the box office, all gained entry to Bollywood's exclusive and much coveted Rs1 billion club, with "Ek Tha Tiger's" global earnings stopping shy of Rs2bn.

What works for the younger Kapoor, say some analysts, is his appeal with the youth that have a generation gap with veteran actors such as Khan himself, along with the likes of Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar.

While the latter two are at the higher end of the income bracket, reportedly charging Rs100m and Rs90m respectively, Aamir Khan has lately become very selective about his endorsements, while Kumar's brands are more catered towards the 30s and up age groups.


Women on top


With his latest deal, Kapoor can now share a mantle with his ex girlfriend, Kareena Kapoor, who is reportedly second in line with as many as 10 endorsement deals to her credit.

Katrina Kaif is a close second, charging only Rs45m, reportedly.

While Kapoor can laugh all the way to the bank, the young actor can still not manage to compete with the likes of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

With A-list brands such as Lux, L'oreal and now Kalyan Jewellery in her kitty, Rai Bachchan reportedly was paid a whopping Rs200m by the last in the trio.

Despite the figure being termed ludicrous by many industry insiders, the actress' package could very well settle in at Rs100m at least, making Kapoor still a loser in the endorsement deals compared to his leading ladies.