Bachchans,King Khan take tour rates to dizzy heights

Aminah Sheikh / Mumbai June 29, 2008, 0:34 IST
After a two-year lull for celebrity world tours, the tinsel town is back in action. The first-ever Bachchan trio tour, The Unforgettable, will fetch Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek and Aishwariya together nearly Rs 60 crore from 16 performances starting from July 18 in Toronto.
Meanwhile, Shah Rukh Khan will alone net nearly Rs 40 crore from performing across 25 cities for the Temptations Reloaded tour that will pan out in two phases.
Bollywood stars are making double of what they earned from these tours a few years ago. The Big B of Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan, commands Rs 2.5 crore, more than double of what he charged two years ago (around Rs 1 crore) a performance. In a 50-60 days' tour, there may be around 20-25 performances.
Shah Rukh Khan is not far behind Bachchan. He rakes in around Rs 2 crore currently. Earlier, he earned around Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1 crore.
However, Khan is challenged by Akshay Kumar, who charges almost the same. The other biggies like Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan charge in the range of Rs 1.5-1.75 crore. Temptations in 2004, which spread across 43 cities has been the benchmark for bollywood tours.
However, in the years that followed, the overseas performances of Bollywood stars have witnessed a downturn. While Temptations witnessed a full house, the tour that followed in 2006, Rock Star, met with cold response with around 70 per cent occupancy even with Salman Khan, John Abraham and Shahid Kapoor performing.
"Stars who attract global audiences have not been available for tours in the last two years. Also, remuneration back then was not compelling enough for them to be willing to perform overseas over a period of 40-60 days," said Mohammed Morain, the promoter of Cineyug Entertainment, who is organising Temptations Reloaded, in which Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Arjun Rampal and Ganesh Hedge will perform along with Shah Rukh Khan.
The Temptations Reloaded tour will be held in two phases, with the first lap rolling out on Saturday in Amsterdam. The second round will be held next year.However, women performers still make much lesser money. The only woman star who matches the men stars is Aishwariya.
The only woman star who matches the men stars is Aishwariya. She earns around Rs 1.25 crore for her stage performance currently. Earlier, she would get in between Rs 80 lakh and Rs 1 crore. Other heroines like Rani Mukherjee, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif and Bipasha Basu earn half of what Aishwariya does (around Rs 45-50 lakh).
Still the fee is less in case of multi-city performances since the star then signs a bulk deal.
"The performance fee varies depending on the market, the kind of performance the actor will deliver and popularity of the star at the time the tour is held. The success of a film at the box office also affects the performance fee," said Sabbas Joseph, director, Wizcraft International Entertainment, organisers of The Unforgettable, which will showcase Akshay Kumar, Madhuri Dixit, Preity Zinta and Riteish Deshmukh in addition to the Bachchans.
Meanwhile, industry players are now looking to adopt the Hollywood model, whereby a star is paid a minimum guarantee amount and has a revenue-sharing agreement. Show organisers earn not only from ticket sales, but also from television telecast rights, mobile rights and merchandising.
The challenge, however, organisers face is from television channels, which pay humongous amounts to celebrities either to play host on a show or be a judge, says industry sources. Sources said now with celebrity shows not garnering eyeballs, the focus will shift to tours.