Director's cut: Look who's the priciest of them all

MINTING MONEY: Anees Bazmee's 'Welcome' made more than Rs 100 cr at the Box Office.

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Keywords: Directors, Bollywood

Mumbai: Whatever be the opinion of critics on Welcome, the fact that Anees Bazmee's second film grossed Rs 125 crore at the Box Office has put him in the league of A-list directors.

With both No Entry and Welcome making Rs 100 crore plus, Bazmee has not only earned a tag, but has also begun to charge Rs 5 to Rs 8 crore per film. A scriptwriter turned director, he feels that money adds the extra clout to a director's importance in Bollywood today.

“It’s unfortunate that film industry gives you importance only when you charge mega bucks. Now that I make a certain amount of money, actors and industry people take me more seriously,” he says.

Bazmee isn't the filmmaker who can command crores today. Bollywood's new price list reportedly puts:

• Comedy king Priyadarshan on top of the league at Rs 11 crore per film
• Slapstick expert David Dhawan's fee at Rs 10 crore.
• Abbas Mastan at Rs 9 crore
• Sanjay Bhansali's fee at Rs 7 to Rs 8 crore in spite of Saawariya

For some insiders this rise in the director's fee also reflects the importance Bollywood is finally giving to people working behind the camera.

Says Filmmaker, Rahul Rawail, "If an actor's fees are as astronomical as it is supposed to be, then why is it incorrect for a director to charge so much money? It’s only fair. The scale of production of a film has changed."

However, some believe that it's a problem of lack of talent.

Says director/producer, Vipul Shah, "Unless there are at least 15 successful directors at any given point in time in Bollywood, I don't think that this scenario is about to change any time soon. I think that the directors can comfortably charge what they want."

With Bollywood's expanding market and increasing revenues money is now filtering down the system.

The minds behind the film are beginning to call the shots on creative and monetary terms and perhaps the quality of films that are hitting a theatre near you is an indication of this change for the better.