March 6th, 2009
We all know that Hindi actress Kangna Ranaut is arriving in Tollywood with a film opposite Prabhas to be directed by Puri Jagannath.But what we didn’t know is that she was paid a bomb to play a glam role. Normally, celebrity debutantes are signed for about Rs 5 to 10 lakh, but this hot starlet seems to be an exception. Hold your breath! Producer Aditya Ram dug deep into his pockets to pay Rs 1 crore to the Raaz girl.“Neither is she a top Hindi actress nor has she acted with big league Bollywood stars,” says a top director, who feels that her price tag will create ripples in the industry. For quite some time, ‘regular’ producers have been worried about the revised price tags of hotshot actresses like Nayantara, Anushka and Ileana and this news could come as a ‘shock’ to them.“Of late, Tollywood is loaded with proposal makers. Some of these producers stitch up ‘combinations’ of star actors and actresses overlooking budgetary equations. No genuine producer will indulge in such harakiri,” says producer-director Teja. “Normally, pay packets veer around the saleability and popularity of a particular actress and Anushka who can draw crowds deserves such a fancy fee,” he adds.
On one hand, producers have been racking their brains to arrive at ways and means to reduce the spiralling cost of production and wriggle out of adverse financial situations. On the other, ironically, some of those producers are encouraging pricey debutantes.“Already, male stars and top technicians have jacked up their prices and if debutantes too join the pricey list, imagine the plight of the industry,” says a leading producer. Interestingly, the manager of a top actress also supports our view. “Bellamkonda Suresh started this trend two years ago by paying Ileana Rs 1 crore,” he says. And the trend seems to continue with Kangna creating a record of sorts as the priciest debutante ever in Tollywood. Looks like a fancy price tag has become a fashion statement for Tollywood’s leading ladies.
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