Rs.3 crores, Rs.5 crores, Rs.10 crores. There is no end to the meteoric rise in star prices today. In the past, even the biggest stars in the Tamil film industry made sure they were available to film producers at reasonable prices. But things have changed today with the entry of corporates on the film scene. They are not only signing up stars for astronomical amounts, they are signing multiple film deals as well. This leaves the individual producers in the dark, and very soon both will begin competing on a large scale to get hold of stars.
Says M. Saravanan of AVM, “Because of the entry of corporates into the industry, stars have started demanding a lot of money. For my current project with Suriya, we have paid him what he has asked for, but I cannot mention the amount. We felt it is viable and so went ahead with the payment…”
The highest paid actor is Rajinikanth, and his figure touches Rs. 17 crores for a venture. This seems reasonable because his films have a very big market today, as his business has reached Rs.100 crores.
Right behind him is Ajith, whose remuneration is Rs.10 crores after the stupendous success of ‘Billa.’ The actor has signed up for ‘Billa 2’ under the banner of Warner Bros. India for the mentioned amount.
‘Aascar’ Ravichandran is all too willing to discuss figures with the media. He claims, “I have paid Rs.7 crores to Kamal for ‘Dasavathaaram,’ and I have no regrets about it. My film has been sold to distributors and I have recovered the production cost.”
Says Krishnakanth of Indian Theatre Productions, “I have worked with big stars such as Vikram, Dhanush and Simbu. I do not mind paying them a lot if the story demands it. Till now no one has demanded any sort of payment from me, and I will be working with these three actors again.
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