Big budget films with big names have not worked their charm at the box-office in 2015 so far.
A few leading men have seen this and are making amends in their pay packet.
Akshay Kumar has taken a cut for his latest, Airlift. And he will take a percentage of profit, subject to realisation.
Akshay is a big star who commands a huge pay, but our guess is that he too realises that even though people come to the theatres to watch him, the producers might not recover their money.
A senior producer has told SpotboyE.com that if the Khiladi hadn't taken the cut, Airlift would have never been made. We now know who to thank when Airlift hits the screens!
But that’s not all. Other A-listers are taking the hint and slashing their asking rates to work in prestigious projects.
Another case in point is the Nawab of Pataudi.
Saif Ali Khan had opted out of Reema Kagti's Mr. Chaalu because the film's producers Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani had allegedly refused to cough up the remuneration he asked for. However, after giving flops like Humshakals and Happy Ending, the actor understood that he needs to clean up his act.
So he didn't think twice before taking a pay cut for Vishal Bhardwaj's next. Buzz is, he has also lowered his price for Ekta Kapoors ambitious project The Devotion of Suspect X.
And of course, for Ramesh Taurani's Race 3. For those who've come in late, Saif had demanded Rs 16 crore for Taurani's next to be directed by Mohit Suri. That did not go down well with the producer and the two ended up having a nasty spat. Finally, Saif signed on the dotted line at a much lower price.
Actors settling for lower asking prices is definitely a good sign. Trade analyst Amod Mehra says, "Everyone is aware that Saif and Akshay have reduced their fees. Let's not call it pay cut. We should call it correction. I'm glad that stars in general have realised that they were overpricing and overvaluing themselves and making their films commercially unviable."
Adds Mehra, "This was the need of the hour ever since the satellite market crashed. Earlier, producers were recovering 40 per cent of the cost through satellite deals. Now, they barely recover 10 per cent."
Leading distributor Ramesh Sippy says, "The new business model adopted by some A-listers is definitely a very positive move."
One wonders if Hrithik Roshan and Ranbir Kapoor will take a leaf from Akshay and Saif's book?
Roshan Jr had charged Rs 30 crore for Bang Bang. Now, he has upped it with Mohenjo Daro, for which he is being paid a staggering sum of Rs 50 crore.
Ranbir Kapoor charged Rs 32 crore for Bombay Velvet in addition to a part of the profits. Surely, he can't justify the hefty pay packet considering the film has been a washout. Interestingly, the film's collections till date (approx Rs 25 crore) have been lesser than Ranbir's pay cheque!
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