Mumbai: Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar seems to be playing the long game with Welcome To The Jungle. While the superstar reportedly charges around Rs 70 crore for a film, latest reports suggest he has taken just Rs 1.8 crore as upfront remuneration for the upcoming comedy. That means Akshay has reduced his immediate fee by nearly 97.4%.
But this is not exactly a simple pay cut. According to reports, Akshay has opted for a profit sharing model instead, where he is expected to receive 72 percent of the film’s IPR revenue after release, while the producer keeps the remaining 28 percent. The makers have also reportedly recovered around Rs 120 crore through OTT, satellite, audio and other secondary rights.
What makes this move more interesting is the timing. Akshay has faced his share of box office setbacks, flops and losses in recent years, but instead of loading the film with a massive upfront star fee, he has reportedly chosen a structure that gives the project breathing space. The idea is simple: let the film recover, let the other actors and technicians get paid fairly, and then earn from the profits if the film works.
For a film with a huge ensemble cast, including Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Johnny Lever, Arshad Warsi, Tusshar Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade, Aftab Shivdasani, Raveena Tandon, Lara Dutta, Jacqueline Fernandez and Disha Patani, this move could help balance the budget better.
At a time when Bollywood budgets are under heavy scrutiny, Akshay’s decision is being seen as a smart and producer friendly move. He may have skipped the big payday for now, but if Welcome To The Jungle clicks with the audience, the profit sharing model could turn out to be a much bigger win.
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