Kartik Aaryan is the only A-Lister who sells, and hasn’t hiked his price
Kartik Aaryan is the only A-Lister who sells, and hasn’t hiked his price
The frenzy to get a glimpse of Kartik Aaryan as he promotes his new film has to be seen to be believed. I’ve seen crowds of thousands surging forward for stars during promotional stopovers. But none so determined to ensure that the film Shehzada becomes a success.
“We want Shehzada to be an even bigger hit than Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2,” Nandita Chaudhary, a young entrepreneur from Bihar and a self-confessed ‘fanatic’ of Kartik says she will take her entire family—her parents, husband and two children — to see Shehzada on the first day.
This kind of familial allegiance was last seen when Rajesh Khanna was the reigning star. Like Kartik, Khanna never hiked his price according to his box office fortunes. Khanna was the first superstar of Indian cinema. His rationale was simple: “If after every hit I hike my price, then I must also lower my fee after every flop, no?”
Kartik moves ahead according to the same level-headed philosophy in his career as Rajesh Khanna. After the roaring success of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 the producers actually pleaded with Kartik to raise his remuneration for their next film together. Kartik said a polite thanks, but no thanks.
It was perhaps beyond the comprehension of the producers why such a successful star would say no to good money.
The producer here is voicing the concern of the entire industry regarding star fees. But look at the irony: it is these insanely prosperous producers loaded with plush funds who have ruined the star pricing in the film industry. Until the 1990s star prices never went beyond Rs 3-4 crores. Suddenly in the new millennium with the advent of the corporate producers the road signs to economic salvation were shuffled around.
Stars decided what they were worth. Not producers. Not even box office figures. They still do. If a star thinks he is worth 25 crores, 50 crores, or even 100 crores, he will get it. Except for a stray Kartik Aaryan who has his head on his shoulders, the rest are all trapped in the bubble of their own making. It will burst sooner rather than later. Until then, the A-listers would never know when they turned into Ail Listers.
Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based journalist. He has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out.
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