The shocking truth about star fees:they refuse to fall in spite of bringing producers like Vashu Bhagnani to near insolvency.
Nearer to the point, the other shocking truth about star salaries: Kamal Haasan was paid almost three times more than Amitabh Bachchan in Kalki.
As the boxoffice figures of Kalki 2898 AD show an upward swing, the exact budget including the stars’ remuneration has been revealed to this writer by a source which doesn’t want to be named.
So what exactly is the budget of Kalki?
“It is 600 crores. Not 800 , as rumoured. The entire project took Rs 600 crores to complete. Out of this, a major fraction went into star remuneration. Both Prabhas and Kamal were paid Rs 100 crores each. This may seem a little impractical for Kamal Haasan as he has just ten minutes playing-time in the film. But he has a lot more playing time in the sequel,” the source reveals.
So the stars have been paid for both Kalki and its sequel?
“That’s right. While Kamal Haasan and Prabhas have been paid 100 each, Mr Bachchan has surprisingly been paid much less: around Rs 35-40 crores. Considering he has always been a much bigger star than Kamal Haasan, this pay disparity makes no sense. Deepika has been paid approximately around 20 crores while Disha Patani,for her minuscule role, 12 crores,” the source reveals.
The source also reveals that approximately 25 percent of the sequel has already been shot.