SCOOP: Vashu Bhagnani requests Akshay Kumar to reduces his fees by Rs. 30 crores for Bell Bottom; actor agrees

Bollywood Hungama was the first to report that Akshay Kumar has charged an upfront acting fee of Rs. 117 crores for the much spoken about action thriller, Bell Bottom produced by Vashu Bhagnani. Later on, it was Bollywood Hungama, who reported that the actor has hiked his acting fees to Rs. 135 crores for the entire release slate of 2022, with the exception being, Sajid Nadiadwala. Being a childhood friend of Sajid, the superstar offered him an exclusive discount and charged just Rs. 99 crores for Bachchan Pandey. And now, Bollywood Hungama has received another exclusive scoop about the acting fees of Akshay.

"Bell Bottom was supposed to release in the month of April, however, due to the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, the release has been deferred. The delay was not accounted for and also resulted in a spike in the budget of Bell Bottom. Being primarily a film that caters to the tier 1 and 2 cities, Vashu Bhagnani wanted to keep the budget in check and hence, he requested his leading man, Akshay to scale down his acting fees by Rs. 30 crores, as the rise in budget aside, there looms a lot of uncertainty on the release too. If theatrical, it's a given that the film wouldn't earn what it would have in a normal scenario," a trade source told Bollywood Hungama.

So what next? Given the goodwill that Vashu enjoys, Akshay has gracefully accepted the request of the Bhagnanis. "Akshay knows the on-ground scenario and doesn't want to put a lot of burden on the film. He has graciously agreed on reducing his acting fees by Rs. 30 crores. However, the catch here is, if the film earns huge returns, he will be reimbursed for the discount given at the moment. Nonetheless, if the film doesn't overperform at the box office, his fees would stand in the range of Rs. 85 to 90 crores, as it stands presently" the trade source added.

That's not all, Akshay is doing multiple films for the Bhagnanis and the discount sought here will be adjusted in the longer run with a certain increment in acting fees over and above his market value. This isn't the first time that an actor slashed his acting fees to help the producer or studio partner. Recently, Salman Khan too had given a special discount to Zee Studios for his Eid release, Radhe, as the cinema halls were shut across the nation and the earlier deal was signed keeping the theatrical release in mind.

Also Read: SCOOP: Akshay Kumar’s Bellbottom to premiere on Disney+ Hotstar; sold for a whopping amount?