This filmmaker spent ₹75 crore to film just 5 songs, shot another in 7 countries: Not Bhansali, Karan Johar, Yash Chopra

This filmmaker kept a budget of ₹75 crore just for five songs in his latest film, with all of them including hundreds of performers.

Think flamboyance and extravagance in Indian cinema, and you think of Yash Chopra choosing Switzerland to film his dreamy songs, Sanjay Leela Bhansali building his opulent sets, or even Karan Johar spending millions on wardrobe alone. Yet, all of them are dwarfed by one maverick from the south, who spent nearly ₹100 crore filming just the songs for a single film. And this is not even the craziest thing he has done. (

Once the costliest song in Indian cinema, Ajooba was shot in seven countries.

The filmmaker who spent ₹75 crore on songs

After close to three decades in the Tamil and Hindi film industries, Shankar is making his debut in Telugu cinema with the political thriller Game Changer. Billed as one of the most expensive Indian films ever, Game Changer is mounted on a massive scale, with reports saying that Shankar spent ₹75 crore on just the songs. The film's producer, Dil Raju, recently confirmed the astronomical amount spent on the songs at the film's trailer launch press meet in Mumbai. "There are five songs in the film, and the budget is ₹75 crore," he said, explaining the expenditure, “Each song has taken 10-12 days to shoot with massive sets and hundreds of background dancers.”

Although the individual budgets of these songs are not known, chances are one of them could be the most expensive song in Indian cinema history. Interestingly, that crown also currently rests on Shankar's head. Yanthara Lokapu Sundarive, from his film 2.0, cost ₹20 crore to make.

When Shankar shot one song in seven countries

Shankar's penchant for extravagance and grandeur in songs dates back to the 90s when he was still a novice in filmmaking. His second feature film - Jeans - was the most expensive Indian film at the time, with a reported budget of ₹25 crore. The film starred Abbas and Aishwarya Rai and included a path-breaking song, Ajooba. Made on a budget of ₹2 crore, it was the most expensive Indian song at the time.

Shankar took Aishwarya, Abbas, and dozens of backup dancers to the seven wonders of the world and shot the song in seven different countries over several weeks.

Shankar with Ram Charan and Kiara Adavni on the set of Game Changer.

About Game Changer

Starring Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, and SJ Suryah, Game Changer is Shankar's first Telugu film. Made on a reported budget of ₹500 crore, it is one of the most expensive Indian films ever. The film is slated to be released in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada on January 10.