Tollywood stars are raking in more cash than their Kollywood counterparts; notwithstanding that Tamil films have a larger market.
With the exception of mighty Rajinikanth, price tags of around Rs 10 crore on three top Telugu stars Mahesh Babu, Jr NTR and Pawan Kalyan, make them costliest film stars in the South. Ravi Teja, Allu Arjun, Prabhas and Naga Chaitanya are not far behind this elite group. They too are expecting to be paid above Rs 3-Rs 4 crore.
Is this raise sustainable and justified? “Few Telugu stars have cut down their remunerations since the market hasn’t expanded proportionately and overseas, the market for Telugu films is stuck at Rs 3 crore,” argues producer Aditya Ram.
However, sources close to the stars disagree claiming that superstars’ films are traded for Rs 40 crore, excluding satellite rights of Rs 6 crore.
“It’s bad planning and unnecessary wastage that increases production cost which is often between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 25 lakh per day and not the stars remunerations. Budgets escalate due to delays but our pay packets remain the same even when we end up spending more days on the same film,” defends Ram Charan Tej who is believed to be earning Rs 8 crore per film, which even senior colleagues in Chennai — Surya, Vikram and Ajith — don’t command.
“The budgets of mass heroes are always expanding and with good marketing and generating hype, producers can easily recover their costs,” says a source close to Jr NTR.
Most stars believe their hefty pay cheques are justified. “I am paid what I deserve and it’s affordable,” quips Ravi Teja who allegedly charges Rs 7 crore per film.
Allu Arjun who is said to be getting Rs 6 crore per film, modestly says, “I understand the problems of the producers but I don’t believe in price tags... I prefer a nominal hike.”
“More than the pay cheque, its an exciting script and the team that beckons me,” points out Naga Chaitanya, barely few years old in the industry with a price tag already escalated from Rs 3 crore to Rs 5 crore.”
Telugu heroes are on a roll. Gnanavel Raja, producer and cousin of Tamil stars, Surya and Karthi, says, “Although the Tamil industry has expanded, we always keep in mind the viability of the film before deciding the payments.”
K.C.N. Chandrasekaran, president of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, says, “Kannada stars haven’t crossed the Rs 1 crore mark because our business is limited to Rs 5 crore to Rs 6 crore which makes our stars still affordable,” he concludes.
With the exception of mighty Rajinikanth, price tags of around Rs 10 crore on three top Telugu stars Mahesh Babu, Jr NTR and Pawan Kalyan, make them costliest film stars in the South. Ravi Teja, Allu Arjun, Prabhas and Naga Chaitanya are not far behind this elite group. They too are expecting to be paid above Rs 3-Rs 4 crore.
Is this raise sustainable and justified? “Few Telugu stars have cut down their remunerations since the market hasn’t expanded proportionately and overseas, the market for Telugu films is stuck at Rs 3 crore,” argues producer Aditya Ram.
However, sources close to the stars disagree claiming that superstars’ films are traded for Rs 40 crore, excluding satellite rights of Rs 6 crore.
“It’s bad planning and unnecessary wastage that increases production cost which is often between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 25 lakh per day and not the stars remunerations. Budgets escalate due to delays but our pay packets remain the same even when we end up spending more days on the same film,” defends Ram Charan Tej who is believed to be earning Rs 8 crore per film, which even senior colleagues in Chennai — Surya, Vikram and Ajith — don’t command.
“The budgets of mass heroes are always expanding and with good marketing and generating hype, producers can easily recover their costs,” says a source close to Jr NTR.
Most stars believe their hefty pay cheques are justified. “I am paid what I deserve and it’s affordable,” quips Ravi Teja who allegedly charges Rs 7 crore per film.
Allu Arjun who is said to be getting Rs 6 crore per film, modestly says, “I understand the problems of the producers but I don’t believe in price tags... I prefer a nominal hike.”
“More than the pay cheque, its an exciting script and the team that beckons me,” points out Naga Chaitanya, barely few years old in the industry with a price tag already escalated from Rs 3 crore to Rs 5 crore.”
Telugu heroes are on a roll. Gnanavel Raja, producer and cousin of Tamil stars, Surya and Karthi, says, “Although the Tamil industry has expanded, we always keep in mind the viability of the film before deciding the payments.”
K.C.N. Chandrasekaran, president of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, says, “Kannada stars haven’t crossed the Rs 1 crore mark because our business is limited to Rs 5 crore to Rs 6 crore which makes our stars still affordable,” he concludes.
--Courtesy-DC
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