One of the most awaited biopic on India’s most successful captain, this story is bound to grab viewer attention and the makers are hoping that the film will have a massive opening at the box office. The last few weeks have witnessed heavy promoting of the film, and needless to say, M.S. Dhoni has himself shot promotional videos with actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
Dhoni is rumoured to have been paid Rs 40-50 crore just for his nod to make the film. Director Neeraj Pandey has denied this, claiming no studio would pay such amounts for the rights, but a source says Dhoni could have charged anything between Rs 4-10 crore.
Also, the film is produced by Inspired Entertainment, owned by Arun Pandey, a friend and business partner of Dhoni’s. Arun has been a close observer of Dhoni’s real life struggles, and is keenly aware of what he went through to reach the heights of fame and success that he is at today. The total budget of the film is close to '80 cr and with a satellite deal close to '45 crore, music rights and the home video rights fetching approxiamately '17 crore, the film is safe as far as recovery is concerned.
Mary Kom: Rs 25 lakh
Marking the debut of Omung Kumar as a director, Mary Kom, with Priyanka Chopra as the lead, successfully pulled off the boxing champion’s life on the big screen. The film was a huge success at the box office, thanks mainly to the actress’ stellar performance. The word is that Mary Kom herself was paid close to Rs 25 lakh for the film, without any profit sharing.
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
Farhan Akhtar stepped into the shoes of Milkha Singh in this Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s directorial flick. The director had asserted that the running legend took just one rupee to give the makers the rights to make a movie on him. However, it has been reported that he had an understanding with the makers that they will contribute 10 per cent of the collection from the film towards his trust. Once the film became a hit, Milkha Singh was reportedly upset that the makers did not honour their commitment.
Sarabjit
Omung Kumar showcased the horrific story of Sarabjit on the big screen, with the help of Sarabjit’s sister Dalbir Kaur. The writer, Rajesh Beri, who was close to Dalbir and the family, as he had spent several years with them to understand their journey, was instrumental in bringing the proposal across to them. When the family was informed that Omung Kumar would direct the film, they apparently agreed instantly. While there are no confirmations regarding payment for making the film, the actors did agree to bring down their fee for the film. Dalbir was keen that a suitable maker does justice to Sarabjit’s life story and more than the money, she wanted the story to be told to the world.
Azhar
During the campaign of this film, the makers clearly communicated that the film was not a biopic of India’s erstwhile captain, Mohammad Azharuddin, but had scenes that highlighted several important incidents from the cricketer’s life. Though he did not get to share the film’s profits, reports alleged that Azhar was paid approximately Rs1 crore towards a one-time right for the film. Like M.S. Dhoni, he too was seen promoting the film.
