I know what’s got your imagination ticking... But before you start assuming it to be something related to the IPL controversy or the FIFA, the truth is something else. It is actually the scale of Shah Rukh Khan’s most ambitious project to date and his much talked about first superhero sci-fi flick – Ra.One.
Everybody expected SRK’s next home production to be a lavish project, with on-production reports revealing rising ‘cost’ notes like how his super hero costume in the film alone was worth Rs one crore or the fact that exorbitant fees were being paid to its other two major stars, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal. The inclusion of international pop singer Akon to the project was another icing on the cake.
But what has really shaken the industry is the pricing that Khan is pitching for the film – a whopping Rs 175 crore. If the deal comes through, it will be the most ambitious and costliest Indian film ever in terms of its price tag. Will Shah Rukh get what he’s demanding and if he does, what could be the impact on an industry just recovering from recession from this humongous asking?
The most expensive film to date was Kites with Reliance Big Pictures (RBP) spending almost Rs 150 crore on it. But this was for two good reasons – firstly it took off when the film industry was going through a boom period and the cost included the rights of the film’s two distinctly separate versions – Indian and international (in which the makers were aiming to launch Hrithik Roshan into mainstream Hollywood and the final cut was helmed by popular American director Brett Ratner).
In a way, the pricing was for two films. Sadly, the film crashed both in India and overseas leaving RBP with huge losses. No wonder, when one heard that Shah Rukh was looking forward to pitching Ra.One for Rs 175 crore, the news itself had industry veterans and experts fall off their chairs.
Is it realistic for an SRK starrer to be priced this high? Well, at least the actor has enough reasons to believe so. Perhaps his confidence is fuelled by the unprecedented overseas success of My Name Is Khan. The film’s box-office earnings in the global market were in the region of Rs 75-100 crore; much more than what it earned in India.
A source close to the actor says, “My Name Is Khan made him realise his potential as a commercial star outside India. So with Ra.One, he is planning for an even bigger release than MNIK. So for anyone who buys the film, SRK knows the huge leverage he will generate. There are two reasons for this kind of a pricing – firstly, it is a very expensive film in terms of production. Secondly, anyone who buys it at this price will ensure that the film has an unprecedented release. And, on both fronts, he is considering himself a safe bet.”
As regards the bidding process, two corporate giants are being considered – Eros Entertainment, which has been a SRK loyalist for a long time now (they had backed his last blockbuster home production Om Shanti Om) and Reliance Big Pictures. The actor having recently made amends (as reported in Stardust) with its head honcho Anil Ambani is keen on negotiating a deal with his film company. On its part, in spite of having produced some of the biggest films in the last few years, RBP has never had an SRK starrer in its kitty so far.
But amidst all this ‘pitching and negotiation’ brouhaha, industry experts are still trying to come to terms with this unbelievable pricing. According to a trade expert, “Today, any big film, in terms of collections, looks at 3 Idiots as a benchmark. Earlier it was Ghajini. But even a 3 Idiots or a Ghajini happens only once in 20 years. Also, these two films were nowhere in the range of Rs 175 crore in terms of their revenues. So this is going to be a real big gamble for Shah Rukh. Even if his film is bought by somebody at this price, imagine the kind of expectations it will raise and the pressure that SRK will have to bear to deliver something extraordinary.”
However, another trade expert offers a contrary view point, backing SRK’s confidence. He says, “Shah Rukh knows the kind of popularity he commands in various countries outside India. In places like Germany, Malaysia and the entire Middle East, SRK is much bigger than any Hollywood star and we are not just talking about the Indians and Asians but also among the local audiences. If marketed and released correctly, even at this huge price, Ra.One could well be a trend-setter. If a semi-commercial film like MNIK could rake in such huge collections, imagine what a full-on mainstream SRK starrer could bring to the table.”
This is precisely the reason why SRK is positioning his film for family audiences, especially children. An insider reveals, “Superhero films have the unique advantage of reaching across all language barriers. That’s the reason why films like Superman, Spiderman, Batman and even Iron Man have been hugely successful globally, outside America. And none of these films have had a commercial Hollywood superstar playing the lead in them either. So when you have an Indian superstar playing a superhero, it’s a double whammy.”
That perhaps explains why SRK had been sitting on the production of Ra.One for over a year. When he decided to get an entire foreign crew, the industry wondered over his reasons to do so. Now it’s clear that his intention was to capture the imagination of the international audience as much as the local ones, if not more. However, on one hand, where few trade experts are hoping that the film will redefine business economics in Bollywood if sold at an unbelievable price of Rs 175 crore, there is an underlying fear of other actors starting an ‘upping the price’ bandwagon, following suit.
Shah Rukh has always been a benchmark-setter of sorts. It goes back to the time when Om Shanti Om was sold for Rs 60 crore (considered a huge price then) and others followed suit with the industry then seeing films being sold for 70, 80 and even 100 crore, with Kites upping the price ante to Rs 150 crore.
With the kind of competition and rivalry that prevails in the industry, there is no doubt that if SRK manages to sell his most ambitious project for the price he wants, other superstars too would start wanting and trying to reach closer to the mark, if not cross it.
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