It’s my way or the highway

Actor Salman Khan has realised the worth of Brand Salman Khan. In a move that’s set to change the rules of the game when it comes to profit sharing in Bollywood, the king of the R100 crore film club has come up with a new business model.

Actor Salman Khan has realised the worth of Brand Salman Khan. In a move that’s set to change the rules of the game when it comes to profit sharing in Bollywood, the king of the R100 crore film club has come up with a new business model.

Traditionally, if a film made money at the box office, the producers, exhibitors and distributors got the profits and the actors, a fixed remuneration. But according to Khan’s new model, he shall pay a fixed amount of R15-20 crore —over and above the production and distribution cost— to the producer and will keep the rest of the profits, that could well go upto R200 crore for a hit film.

The industry, surprisingly, has given a thumbs up to Sallu’s idea. “After giving mega blockbusters such as Dabangg, Ek Tha Tiger, Bodyguard and Ready, Salman is today in a position to command whatever he wants.

This model is great for him to encash his brand. If he will get the biggest chunk of the profits, one needs to also keep in mind that he is ready to take the risk that if the film fails, he will still pay the committed amount of R15-20 crore to the producer,” says trade analyst Atul Mohan.

All the top actors have realised that a film works because of them and what their worth is, so they don’t want to share the profits with anyone.”

Not everyone, however, agrees with Salman’s blatant diktat. “Yes, Salman is in demand and that’s why this rule. His mantra is, ‘main kisi aur ko kyun kamaane doon?’ But this way it’ll be very difficult for producers outside of his family to work with him.

He will have to produce all his films himself,” says trade analyst Vikas Mohan.