Starpower reigns
ACTORS AJAY DEVGN AND SALMAN KHAN HAVE INKED FABULOUS DEALS WITH STAR CHANNEL TO PROMOTE THEIR MOVIES
First it was Salman Khan and now, it’s Ajay Devgn who is making a fortune out of his blockbusters for the second time. In what could be perceived as a win-win situation for both parties, the actors are signing exclusive deals with television channels to screen their movies. Star television has been exclusively screening Salman Khan’s films like Wanted, Bodyguard, Ready and Dabangg for nearly a year now. Star has cracked a similar deal with Ajay Devgn for his films such as Golmaal, Bol Bachchan and Once Upon A Time In
Mumbai. In fact, from 2012 to 2017, only Star will premiere the films of these two actors. The reason touted for such heavy-duty investments is the sky-high TRPs that Ajay and Salman’s films garner. Since it’s a two-way street, the producer and actor gain out of the deal, the channels make sure that both the parties are involved in the negotiation process although, almost always, it is the actor who acts a mediator between the producer and the channel.
Talking about the deal Ajay Devgn says, “Business is becoming increasingly open and clear, so it’s easier to deal directly. I secure the producer a higher value for his film. Which works well for him because producers often depend on satellite rights to earn back a substantial amount of the cost of production. But I'm also ensuring a certain amount for myself.” Now the obvious question to Star would be, “Why Ajay?” When his counterparts like SRK and Aamir, too, have been in the rat race, why place their bet on just Ajay or Salman?
Hemal Jhaveri, EVP, GM Star Gold and Star Movies, says, “In the past we had a tie-up with filmmakers for the screening of Salman Khan’s films exclusively and the TRPs they garnered were mind-boggling. The only actor who matched up to Salman’s popularity was Ajay Devgn. We realised that only after we premiered
Singham on TV. The channel got an 8.5 TRP which is way above average by any standards.
It is a good development at this juncture of the industry. Fixing a star’s film for a fixed period of time will surely help in budgeting." Well! If the channel is ready to pay a hefty amount to the stars it has to be done on a commercially viable basis. Undoubtedly, bigger stars are commanding a huge TRP rating. — HIREN GADA, DIRECTOR SHEMAROO TALKING ABOUT SIGNING SALMAN ON AN EXORBITANT AMOUNT OF 5CR
On the morning after the launch of his latest novel, Best
Kept Secret, in Mumbai, Lord Jeffrey Archer is busy fielding questions about this third installation in the Clifton saga. That very evening, the author is to begin his Landmark Jeffrey Archer Tour, travelling to Chennai, Bengaluru and Delhi. In his hotel suite, his back to the windows that offer a sweeping panorama of the sea, he is all business — dressed in a formal shirt and trousers, sports shoes. Get him talking about his bestsellers, and he is all warmth: It’s like flipping a switch that gets Lord Jeffrey Archer, performer and seasoned orator, on stage.
We start with the Clifton books, and tackling a five-part story 30 years after the Kane and Abel trilogy was written. “The good thing is you have the characters, and they’re in your mind, and they’re in your readers’ mind,” says Lord Archer. “So you can continue on with Harry and Emma, with Sebastian and Jessica and have a saga of some length. But each book also has to stand by itself, so if people were to only read Best Kept
Secret, they’d still be able to enjoy it as a book on its own.”
His fast-paced reads often draw on real life and real people for inspiration. Is that like having a sixth sense — being constantly on the lookout for a good story? “Yes, I will (always) be watching what people do, how they react, and clocking it all in, never knowing when it will come back out. All the time. I can’t stop doing it,” he says. “What you read in the books is only a hundredth of it.”
It’s not just others’ experiences, Lord Archer frequently draws on his own, and in Best Kept Secret, there’s the rather real description of a fiercely contested parliamentary election. Did it stem from a yearning to return to his own political career, cut short by controversy? An emphatic “no, no” is the reply. “It’s a new generation running Britain and I’m quite happy with what’s happening with the writing, thank you. But if you’ve fought a by-election or a general election, why not put it on the page? You use your own experiences,” he says.
These experiences have been channelled into nearly a book for every year since the mid-1990s — making Lord Archer a prolific writer indeed. This output becomes even more admirable when contrasted with the numerous drafts each novel goes through (between 14 and 17). “It’s called hard work!” he emphasises, adding after a pause, “Yes, it does (get exhausting) especially at the end of the day when I’ve done eight hours of writing (four sets of two hours each, beginning at 6 am)… I remember once my wife said let’s go out to dinner, we’ve been in the house for 21 days. And the car was on the far side of the road, and I physically collapsed before I could get to it and had to be taken back to bed. See, I give it everything.” Despite the long hours at his desk, he finds the time to stay fit — his vitality makes it difficult to remember that Lord Archer is 72. The observation earns us a stern injunction: “You make time! I can still go to a cricket match, I can still go to a gallery, I can still go to the theatre. Most people spend their lives sitting on sofas, watching rubbish on television, eating too much food, not doing enough exercise. Use Time. Constructively. There’s 24 hours in each day — use them.”
His methodical way of setting aside regimented time slots for writing may seem at odds with his confession that he doesn’t really know how the writing — a God-given gift, Lord Archer calls it — happens. “Doesn’t matter how talented you are, you’ll never succeed unless you work hard,” he admonishes us. “I work hard. So did Picasso. So did Maria Callas. It’s hard work if you want to be number one.”
“If you fall into that category of thinking,” says Lord Archer in a lilting tone, miming a ballerina, “I am wonderful, I can’t work unless I get the muse — that’s rubbish!” In a sharp tone, he continues, “You think Picasso woke up in the morning and said “I’ll get the muse…”? He painted the picture on the canvas! You think Maria Callas didn’t practise for hour after hour? It’s hard work. And you’ll not get away with just being creative.” When he took up his pen in the 1970s, writing offered a way out of imminent bankruptcy. In the time since, it has bolstered his fortunes considerably, but Lord Archer says writing, for him, is not about the money. “I wouldn’t be sitting here in Mumbai, talking to you if all I was interested in was the money. I would be in Barbados, having a good time,” he says.
I remember once my wife said let’s go out to dinner, we’ve been in the house for 21 days. And the car was on the far side of the road, and I physically collapsed before I could get to it and had to be taken back to bed
— JEFFREY ARCHER