hmasalia
Forerunner
The Times of India, Mumbai, had a story which said “Move over King Khan, Rajni’s the real BO kingâ€. That got us thinking. While Shah Rukh Khan charges around 5-6 crore per movie, Rajnikanth is South Asia’s highest paid actor, having earned around Rs 14 - 20 crore for “Chandramukhiâ€. For his next movie “Shivajiâ€, due for release this November, he will earn around Rs 15 crore, besides receiving 50% of the gross sale receipts of the film in Tamil and Telegu, pegging his income at approximately Rs 30 crore.
When an Amitabh Bachchan is “harassed†by the Income Tax department, it makes it to the front page, but when Rajnikanth’s house was raided (it later turned out to be just a routine survey; just as the Big B’s claims of being unduly targeted were refuted by the Finance Minister himself) last year, it did not make it to any of the inside pages of national dailies. Not even a mention.
Do we suffer from a bias against our South-Indian stars? Is there a perception (misconceived or otherwise) that they are less glamorous than our Khans and do not have pan-Indian appeal? After all none of the commercials on national TV have a Madhavan or a Chiranjeevi. Is a star’s Bollywood stature our only measuring yard for success in tinsel town?
Since star status is very subjective, here one day, gone the next Friday, we decided to take a look at hard figures. SRK charges Rs 6 crore per movie. Rajnikanth produces his own films and that too on a tight budget. His production company Lotus International comes out with a new release every two years and sells the picture directly to 260 theatres across the four southern states. The theatres pay Lotus International a minimum ‘guarantee’ amount that could vary from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 75 lakh (for larger cities).
Irrespective of the fate of the movie, Rajnikanth’s Lotus makes money. Usually to the tune of Rs. 60 crore (on an average of Rs 50 lakh per theatre). Music and international rights are the icing on the cake.
In contrast, Shah Rukh’s Dreamz Unlimited has had only 1 semi-hit with “Chalte Chalte†which grossed Rs 16 crore. When Rajni’s “Baba†made Rs 20 crore at the box office, trade pundits bemoaned the demise of the Rajni mania, for when it comes to Rajni movies, anything less than Rs 35 crore is considered a flop. Irrespective of the fate of “Baba†at the box office, Lotus International got richer by more than Rs 40 crore, a feat Dreamz Unlimited can only dream of! Given the huge market for Bollywood releases, distribution itself is a logistical nightmare for any Hindi film producer. So bypassing the traditional distribution channel altogether is unthinkable, a stunt only a Rajni can pull off!
/photo.cms?msid=1713504 Chitra Lakshmanan, Secretary, Tamil Film Producers Association was quoted as saying that for the past ten years “Saar†never had to worry about hits or flops, for he competed only against himself and, in what was quite a telling statement, said that that was a luxury no Bollywood superstar enjoyed.
The last hit delivered by Shah Rukh Khan was in 2004 when he gave a super hit in ‘Veer Zara†and a moderate hit in “Main Hoon Naâ€. “Veer Zara†grossed around 41 crore worldwide (source boxofficeindia.com), while “Main Hoon Na†made Rs 34 crore. Trade reports say Rajnikanth’s “Chandramukhi†(2005) grossed at Rs 60 crore, the highest among Indian films. Compare that to last year’s biggest grosser, “No Entryâ€, which made Rs 44 crore or this year’s favourite, “Rang De Basanti†that has made Rs. 51 crore.
Source:Who is India's biggest superstar? -Xtra Edition-Indiatimes
When an Amitabh Bachchan is “harassed†by the Income Tax department, it makes it to the front page, but when Rajnikanth’s house was raided (it later turned out to be just a routine survey; just as the Big B’s claims of being unduly targeted were refuted by the Finance Minister himself) last year, it did not make it to any of the inside pages of national dailies. Not even a mention.
Do we suffer from a bias against our South-Indian stars? Is there a perception (misconceived or otherwise) that they are less glamorous than our Khans and do not have pan-Indian appeal? After all none of the commercials on national TV have a Madhavan or a Chiranjeevi. Is a star’s Bollywood stature our only measuring yard for success in tinsel town?
Since star status is very subjective, here one day, gone the next Friday, we decided to take a look at hard figures. SRK charges Rs 6 crore per movie. Rajnikanth produces his own films and that too on a tight budget. His production company Lotus International comes out with a new release every two years and sells the picture directly to 260 theatres across the four southern states. The theatres pay Lotus International a minimum ‘guarantee’ amount that could vary from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 75 lakh (for larger cities).
Irrespective of the fate of the movie, Rajnikanth’s Lotus makes money. Usually to the tune of Rs. 60 crore (on an average of Rs 50 lakh per theatre). Music and international rights are the icing on the cake.
In contrast, Shah Rukh’s Dreamz Unlimited has had only 1 semi-hit with “Chalte Chalte†which grossed Rs 16 crore. When Rajni’s “Baba†made Rs 20 crore at the box office, trade pundits bemoaned the demise of the Rajni mania, for when it comes to Rajni movies, anything less than Rs 35 crore is considered a flop. Irrespective of the fate of “Baba†at the box office, Lotus International got richer by more than Rs 40 crore, a feat Dreamz Unlimited can only dream of! Given the huge market for Bollywood releases, distribution itself is a logistical nightmare for any Hindi film producer. So bypassing the traditional distribution channel altogether is unthinkable, a stunt only a Rajni can pull off!
/photo.cms?msid=1713504 Chitra Lakshmanan, Secretary, Tamil Film Producers Association was quoted as saying that for the past ten years “Saar†never had to worry about hits or flops, for he competed only against himself and, in what was quite a telling statement, said that that was a luxury no Bollywood superstar enjoyed.
The last hit delivered by Shah Rukh Khan was in 2004 when he gave a super hit in ‘Veer Zara†and a moderate hit in “Main Hoon Naâ€. “Veer Zara†grossed around 41 crore worldwide (source boxofficeindia.com), while “Main Hoon Na†made Rs 34 crore. Trade reports say Rajnikanth’s “Chandramukhi†(2005) grossed at Rs 60 crore, the highest among Indian films. Compare that to last year’s biggest grosser, “No Entryâ€, which made Rs 44 crore or this year’s favourite, “Rang De Basanti†that has made Rs. 51 crore.
Source:Who is India's biggest superstar? -Xtra Edition-Indiatimes
