Rani Padmavati’s budget of Rs. 140 crores. Here’s why

August 29, 2016 - 1:25 PM IST

Only last week, we had reported about two major Bollywood studios viz. Eros International and Viacom Motion Pictures collaborating together with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's production house to develop the period drama Rani Padmavati. While two such big studios coming together for a single film isn't unheard of, it certainly is rare. However, we at Bollywood Hungama, managed to get an inside scoop which stated that the estimated budget of the film approximately Rs. 140 crores, will certainly be one of the most expensive productions in the recent past. But what prompted such a collaboration is a question that is on everyone's' mind. Considering this, we decided to explore this a bit further the reason as to why two biggest Bollywood studios are collaborating on a single project:

Rani Padmavati’s budget of Rs. 140 crores. Here’s why

Grand scale of film-making:
Considering the fact that Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known for making films on a canvas that quite literally puts real life to shame, the obvious reason is the grand scale and opulence of the film that is expected of Rani Padmavati. Similarly, Rani Padmavati, much like Bhansali's numerous other ventures viz. Bajirao Mastani, Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela etc. will be made on a lavish scale with sets being developed to envisage the era gone by. If that wasn't enough, the filmmaker's attention to detail in terms of costumes and general look and feel will be second to none.

All-star cast remuneration:
The second obvious reason for the collaboration is the remuneration of the cast members, which comprises of Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor. With three A-list actors top lining the cast, it is pretty evident that a major chunk of the Rs. 140 cr budget will go as remuneration for the three superstars. Commenting on the remuneration, a source close to the production of the film says, "Given Deepika Padukone's recent successes and the fact that she also features in a big ticket Hollywood venture, her remuneration has been hiked. Adding to this, Ranveer Singh, too has decided to demand his usual market rate, unlike in Bajirao Mastani wherein he opted for a lower remuneration in lieu of a profit share. Similarly, Shahid Kapoor, too, has chosen to stick to his current market rate, which put together makes for a massive chunk of the overall budget going in remuneration". Based on the above remuneration break up, approximately Rs. 30 crores of the total Rs. 140 cr budget will be allocated as fee for Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor, with the remaining Rs. 110 crores being channelled into development and eventual release of the film.

Big risk factor:
It is a definite no brainer that with such high production costs, the risk involved is equally big. Considering the scale on which big ticket films are released today, Rani Padmavati is likely to see a similar release plan, if not bigger, that will cover approximately 3500+ screens in the domestic market with another 1000 odd screens overseas. To mitigate such a grand release and the costs in order to reduce the burden of overall production on one single studio, Eros and Viacom have entered into a partnership of sorts with Bhansali's production house.