With his fee of Rs 35 crores for his ten-day work in Ram Madhvani’s terror-thriller Dhamaka Kartik Aaryan seems to have raced far ahead of his contemporaries . The actor who was paid a pittance(Rs 3 lakhs) for his first film Pyaar Ka Punchnaama has indeed come a long way.
The 35-crore fee is according to trade experts staggering for an actor who is only 9 films old.A trade analyst who wants to remain unnamed compares Kartik’s career graph to Akshay Kumar’s.
“They come from a similar background. Punjabi conservative family , one son and daughter. No Bollywood connections .Yet they both made it super-big. But Akshay’s fee after 9 films was nowhere close to Kartik’s 35 crores. In fact until Suneel Darshan’s Jaanwar in 1999 Akshay was paid a measly amount. Kartik has bounced to the big league in no time at all, and that too when his initial films Akash Vani, Kanchi and Guest In London were super-flops,” says the trade analyst, adding that no leading man of Kartik’s generation commands a fee anywhere close.
The turn-around film in Kartik’s career was Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety. Kartik moved so far ahead in the film market that even his discoverer Luv Ranjan couldn’t afford to sign Kartik for his next and had to opt for Ranbir Kapoor instead.
What next for Kartik? Sources close to the actor say money is not his criteria for selection. “Eros Now offered Kartik a 3-film deal for 90 crore rupees. He turned it down as he didn’t like the projects. Kartik won’t sign any films for just money. But if it’s something as exciting as Dhamaka with a reputed director like Ram Madhvani, then why not?” says a confidant of the actor.
