With Padmavati, Deepika Padukone scores a hat-trick, this being her third Sanjay Leela Bhansali-directed film after Goliyan Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela and Bajirao Mastani. But the bigger news is that for this period drama, the actress is being paid 12 times what she was paid for the 2013 romantic-tragedy. “For Ram-Leela she got Rs 1 crore, for Bajirao-Mastani which came two years later, it was Rs 7 crore, this time it is Rs 12.65 crore, making her the first Bollywood actress to break the Rs 10 crore barrier,“ says a source close to the development.

The news comes close on the heels of her first Hollywood outing, the Vin Diesel actioner, xXx: Return of Xander Cage. Even as speculations about whether she was in the much-talked-about film or not were making the rumour mills buzz, Mirror was privy to details of the contract between Deepika and Bhansali Productions whereby she received an email on June 13 making her an offer of Rs 11 crore plus taxes (which adds up to the tune of Rs 12.65 crore) . She reverted with an okay on the same day, blocking her dates for Padmavati which is expected to go on the floors next month.

This year, Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar made it to Forbes first global list of top ten highest-paid actors, which included Hollywood, Hong Kong and Bollywood. While the wage gap debate in the West rages on, back home the heroes continue to rake in the big bucks with Hrithik Roshan and Aamir Khan reportedly being paid Rs 50 crore for their upcoming ventures. Content is king, literally, in our film industry, with the queens trailing far behind despite the recent surge and success of heroine-centric stories like Tanu Weds Manu Returns, Piku and Mary Kom.

Murmurs in the industry suggest that Priyanka Chopra got Rs 6 crore to romance Uday Chopra in Pyaar Impossible in 2010. The same year, Kareena Kapoor was reportedly paid Rs 7 crore for Rohit Shetty's Golmaal 3 while in 2011, Kangana Ranaut is believed to have been roped in for Rs 5 crore to lend her name to Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan's son, Chirag's debut film, Miley Naa Miley Hum. There have been many such unconfirmed reports since about the remuneration of various actresses, from Katrina Kaif and Vidya Balan to Shraddha Kapoor and Jacqueline Fernandez. According to the source, Deepika has been in talks with Bhansali for a while now and gave her nod to the project based on a narration about two months ago. The script was still being developed at the time and she got the final narration a couple of days ago. “It's shaped up as brilliantly as she had envisioned,“ asserts the source.

The film is written by Prakash Kapadia who has earlier collaborated with Bhansali on Devdas, Black, Saawariya and the recent Bajirao Mastani. Buzz is, Ranveer Singh is playing Khilji and was given his final narration yesterday.

For the role of Raja Ratan Singh, several names have been making the rounds, from Masaan debutant Vicky Kaushal to Hrithik Roshan, Shah Rukh Khan and Shahid Kapoor. Bhansali has been noncommittal on the subject of casting. The film is scheduled for release on December 15, 2017.

THE STORY BEHIND PADMAVATI
Sanjay Leela Bhansali's next period drama revolves around Allauddin Khilji, the second ruler of the Khilji dynasty, and his obsessive love for Padmavati, the queen of Mewar. Legend has it that having heard of her unparalleled beauty, he was eager to see her in person. And even though it was forbidden for a Hindu queen to reveal herself to a stranger, Maharaja Ratan Singh persuaded her to let the Sultan see her just once. Dazzled Khilji resolved to induct her into his harem, ordering his army to invade the kingdom. Even though outnumbered, Ratan Singh declared that the Rajputs would fight to the last man to protect their honour. And Padmavati decided to commit jauhar. As their men-folk marched towards a lost war, a huge pyre was lit and following their queen, the women of Mewar jumped into the flames. In 2008, SLB directed an operaballad, Padmavati, after Saawariya's release, at Paris's Théâtre du Châtelet to a standing ovation.