Arshad Warsi, the real winner

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Kavita Gupta

@uknaik99

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Posted: 18 years ago

Arshad Warsi, the real winner
By: A Sunday Mid Day Correspondent
January 28, 2007

Arshad Warsi

On Saturday evening, the buzz was not so much around Rahul Roy who emerged as the surprise winner of Bigg Boss as show host Arshad Warsi.

Warsi, it is said made Rs 90 lakh for his once-a-week trip to Karjat, where the housemates would await their eviction at his hands. For his films, it is said, Arshad charges around Rs 50 lakh.

Almost immediately after announcing Rahul as the winner on Saturday, Arshad got into his car and made a quick exit, leaving behind the other housemates to field media queries.

This started speculation on the sets that Arshad may have already been asked about his prize money, and did not want to confirm just how lucrative his contract with Sony and Endemol India had been.

Arshad's luck has been on the rise ever since he starred in the first of Rajkumar Hirani's films on the exploits of Munnabhai and Circuit, way back in 2003.

A string of comedies like Hulchul, Salaam Namaste and Golmaal followed, but he sealed his position with his second innings as the loveable Circuit in the superhit Lage Raho Munnabhai. In the recent Kabul Express, he walked away with all the praise, despite the presence of India's current hottie John Abraham.

The other mega deal Arshad landed in television was Filmy Stock Exchange on Sahara One's Filmy channel.

This is a sea-change from the Arshad who struggled to find a footing in ABCL's Tere Mere Sapne also starring Chandrachur Singh in 1996. Despite being appreciated, Arshad could not find a genre that worked for him.

Surprising then, that he would go on to become the main attraction for a TV show.

When Arshad signed up as host on Bigg Boss, he seemed the most bankable name on their marquee. And there was conjecture over why he had attached his name to the show but Bigg Boss quickly climbed the TRP ratings and Arshad's luck has continued to soar.

It is rumoured that Arshad charges nearly Rs 75 lakh-a crore per film but trade analyst Indu Mirani says this figure sounds too steep. "Unless he gives a solo hit or carries a film on his shoulders, he shouldn't be thinking of asking for so much."

She does admit though that since Munnabhai, Arshad's stock is much higher than other comic actors like Rajpal Yadav.

Still, he is yet to get into the one-crore league like new entrant Shiney Ahuja. "But TV could well have paid him Rs 90 lakh, because he was their lure and they have that kind of money," says Mirani.

Seeking to maximise Arshad's pull, Endemol India wanted to send him to London to lend a brotherly shoulder to actress Shilpa Shetty, who is herself an inmate on Celebrity Big Brother there. Shilpa had been on the receiving end of a heavy bout of nastiness, Big Brother style, and Arshad was to take a message of comfort from her family and friends.

However, when Endemol asked Arshad not to mention the recent racism controversy, Arshad is said to have refused to go.