Boney Kapoor demanded extra money for Hindi and Telugu releases, says 'Puli' producers
10 Nov 2015 8:58 PM IST
Sridevi recently filed a complaint stating that she was yet to be paid Rs 50 lakhs
Mumbai: Actress Sridevi made a comeback to Tamil films after several years with 'Puli', but is now caught in a tangle over her remuneration for the film. The actress had filed a complaint at the Mumbai producers' council stating that she was yet to be paid Rs 50 lakhs for the film.
However, the producers have a different story to narrate altogether. Thameens and P.T Selvakumar who were extremely upset over the allegations, issued a statement claiming that they don't owe her a single penny. In a four-page long statement, they said that they signed the veteran actress out of respect and agreed to pay Rs 2.7 crore as her remuneration excluding Rs 30 lakhs service tax.
They mentioned that in the final stages of production, Sridevi's husband Boney Kapoor had asked to pay her extra as they were planning to release the film in other languages too. After much deliberation, they decided to pay her 20 percent of the film’s Hindi satellite rights, which was Rs.55 lakh, and Rs.15 lakh for the dubbed Telugu version. Apparently, it was at the behest of Boney Kapoor, who convinced them that Sridevi has very good market in Hindi, that the makers decided to release the film in Hindi.
Also, even after hiring three costume designers, Sridevi was persistent to get Manish Malhotra on board. It looks like the actress wanted a separate marketing designer for the Hindi release and they spent Rs 8 lakhs for this. They spent Rs 8 lakhs for the marketing designer for the film's Hindi version. Despite making all these efforts, Sridevi refused to come for the audio launch.
The letter also states that the director Chimbudevan agreed to complete the film in 100 days, but completed it in 150 days. This means they exceeded the budget on the film as well. Since the movie got delayed, they say they incurred further losses. 'Puli' was also not granted a tax exemption, as a result of which they had to pay Rs 4.5 crore.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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