Sonali Joshi Pitale (MID-DAY; June 24, 2016)

The stage is set for a Bollywood awards show in Spain and the stars are expected to rake in big bucks by showing off their moves. And if gossip mills are to be believed, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra, both of whom recently wrapped up their respective Hollywood films, will be the highest paid actresses, apparently drawing nearly Rs 1.3 crore for four-minute performances each.

Deepika has supposedly demanded Rs 33 lakh per minute and Priyanka is said to command the same fee too. A source says, “The organisers were in talks with many celebrities to perform on stage. They even conducted a research to find out which Bollywood celebrities are popular in Madrid and results showed Deepika and Priyanka top the actresses’ list and therefore, were ready to shell out a hefty amount to have them in their performance line-up. Normally, Bollywood girls are paid Rs 70-80 lakh for a stage act depending on their popularity and market value.”

Deepika has already reached Madrid, the venue for the awards show, while PeeCee is expected to fly into the Spanish capital on the eve of the function.

Another source says, “The brand value of the two girls has shot up after they forayed into H’wood and if they are asking for that much money for a performance, it is absolutely justified. The organisers have agreed to their demand too.”

PeeCee, who features in American TV show Quantico in a leading role, recently wrapped up her first Hollywood, Baywatch and . Deepika, on the other hand, will be seen in XXX: The Return of Xander Cage in her maiden H’wood project opposite Vin Diesel.

The two actresses remained unavailable for comment.

Other celebrities slated to perform at the awards ceremony include Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Sonakshi Sinha and Shilpa Shetty. Sources said the B-Town men are paid much more than actresses.

“Salman’s fee is somewhere around Rs 5 crore while Hrithik charges Rs 3.5-4 crore for a performance,” adds an industry insider.

DP to romance Salman?

Whispers in the industry corridors suggest Deepika Padukone has signed her next Bollywood project — Kabir Khan’s period drama Tubelight starring Salman Khan. Says a source, “There was strong buzz about Katrina Kaif being paired opposite Salman, but it is Deepika who has now managed to bag the film.”

Apparently, the actress met the star recently to discuss the script. A source working on the project confirms the story and says, “Deepika has indeed been finalised for the role and the makers will head to Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh for the shoot schedule which will begin in a couple of months.”

Tubelight, which will be set in the ’60s, centres around a small village where electricity enters for the first time.
—Gaurav Dubey