Now, that's a lot of moolah! Buzz is that Ajay Devgn has now inked a staggering Rs 400 crore deal with a leading GEC for exclusive satellite rights of all his upcoming films until 2018. This five-year deal comes close to Salman Khan's five-year deal with the same channel for satellite rights.
Our source says, `After Salman's deal, Devgn is the next superstar to sign such a huge deal. The agreement is for five years and will roughly have around 10 of his films.
Ajay is one of the most popular guys in satellite business as some of his recent films have done tremendous business. Films like Bol Bachchan, Singham, Son Of Sardaar and the Golmaal series have not only crossed the Rs 100 crore mark but have also generated huge TRPs on satellite channels.`
Insiders say that among the first would be Sajid Khan's Himmatwala, which is produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Vashu Bhagnani.
A source adds, `The next is Prakash Jha's Satyagraha followed by an action film with Prabhu Deva and a sequel to Rohit Shetty's Singham. Besides Devgn's upcoming films, the network already has 18 of his earlier films including Singham, the Golmaal series, Zameen and Gangaajal.`
Ajay, who is currently in Bhopal shooting for Jha's film says, `Business is becoming increasingly open and clear, so it's easier to deal directly.
I am securing the producer a higher value, so he benefits eventually, as they often depend on satellite rights to garner a substantial amount of the cost of production. But I am also ensuring a certain amount for myself. For the rest, like actors' fees, etc, all depends on the relationship between an actor and the producer.`
After dominating the big screen, looks like Devgn is all set to make his mark on television too.
Hemal Jhaveri from the channel says, `We are extremely happy to have partnered with Ajay, whose movies have consistently performed at the box office and on television. It's also a special association since we relaunched the channel with Singham.`