Price-winning move! -IQ may join sony

After snapping ties with Balaji, the production house that made stars of newcomers, some TV actors have pledged their loyalty to Sony. Apparently, Sony and its new creative head, Sandiip Sikcand, have agreed to pay the actors twice the amount that Balaji is shelling out.

Sony television is all set for a drastic transformation. The channel that thrived on reality and game shows is predictably joining the soap bandwagon. After all, Sony's new recruit Sandiip Sikcand is an ex-Balaji product.

Over the next few months, telly stars like Renuka Shahne, Aamna Shariff, Smriti Irani and Iqbal Khan are going to shine on Sony. What's common to all the stars is that most of them started off at Balaji and skyrocketed to fame with Ekta's shows.

There's a saying, "If you pay peanuts, you will get monkeys." Apparently, Sony has discovered the profound wisdom of these words. Balaji, Ekta Kapoor's production house, is not exactly reputed for being a generous paymaster as they are arguably the best launching platform for an actor in television today. Sony is now coolly courting the actors with bigger bucks after Balaji has invested in the newcomers.

The latest actor to join the list is Cezanne Khan. According to sources, the former Kasauti Zindagi Kay actor will be making a whopping Rs 70,000 a day for a new Sony soap. Cezanne tried to brush it off, "It's too early to talk about future projects. And I'm certainly not disclosing any figures."

The man behind the shuffle, Sandiip Sikcand shrugs, "I can't say much about Cezanne because it's too premature. I'm getting used to this now. During Bigg Boss, a lot of unrealistic figures were being thrown around. Where money is concerned, it's the production house that negotiates. It's a co-incidence that the above mentioned actors happen to be established names…" 'From Balaji' is left unspoken in the air.

Where money is concerned, it's the production house that negotiates. It's a co-incidence that the above mentioned actors happen to be established names… — Sandiip Sikcand


Moolah rouge

After checking out these figures, the stars better not complain about hectic schedules any more!

Aamna Shariff: She rakes in a cool Rs 30-35,000 per day for Kahin To Hoga. Sony has just sweetened the deal by hiking figures up to Rs 65,000.