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Subhash K Jha (DNA; September 1, 2014)

Ranveer Singh has taken a drastic pay cut in fees for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani. SLB himself will take a pay cut, sharing in the profits instead. Leading ladies Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra will be paid their normal rates.

The spokesperson for Eros International, the film’s producer, confirms, “It’s finally a Rs 100-crore project because of Sanjay Leela Bhansali. We followed a similar deal in Ram Leela too where the director didn’t take a fee upfront and chose to take a share in the profits instead. Hence, Ram Leela’s overall production cost ended up being Rs 60 crore. Worldwide, it grossed more than Rs 200 crore.”

With the rising fees of stars, filmmaking has become an even more expensive affair and studios have begun looking for new business models. Makers like Eros Entertainment were keen to cut down production costs for big-budget projects and have instead invited the director and actors to share in fees rather than take an upfront fee. This makes sense, because if you’re charging for star power, you ought to take responsibility when that power fails. Naturally, this arrangement is not to the liking of all actors.