'Herogiri' for Rs2,000 crore

With the spate of biggies lined up in the months ahead, the BO is promising to become a battleground with heroes jostling to join the elite Rs100-crore club. And as the takkar intensifies between the A-leaguers for the numero uno spot, industry insiders insist that the stakes are higher than ever before.

“Almost every top hero has a release coming up. Even those  known to work in one film at a time, like Aamir Khan or Shah Rukh Khan have their pockets fuller this time around, as besides their upcoming films, they have at least two more in hand already. SRK and Aamir apart, all the rest have multiple releases in the forthcoming months, making the takkar even more interesting,” share industrywallahs, who are now going to be riveted on these stars to see who rakes in the most moolah. 

“The fact that almost all A-listers have a release this year is already heating things up at the BO. It’s going to be interesting to see who makes it to the top, as individually, each actor has several crores riding on them this time around,” explains trade analyst Taran Adarsh.

Trade figures estimate the total money riding on Bolly heroes to be around Rs2,100 crore plus at present, one of the highest ever, point out trade analysts. While Salman, who has proven to be the most bankable star in recent times, is leading the Khan pack in terms of monies on him, the difference between him and Aamir, SRK and Ajay Devgn is marginal. Fresh from the success of two of his most recent films, however, is Akshay Kumar, who has maximum money riding on him, very much like it did in the past.

But trade analysts also insist that what cannot be overlooked is the sheer number of films in hand. “Akshay has six films in hand, Salman and Ajay have four each, while SRK and Aamir have three each. Meanwhile, Hrithik Roshan also has approximately a crore plus on him though he has only one film in hand at present. So, keeping all these dynamics in mind, there’s still no clear-cut numero uno here,” say insiders. What also needs to be considered is the fact if the film is a solo release or an ensemble cast. Like Abhishek Bachchan has approx Rs200 crore riding on him, but only one solo release and that too is yet to go on floors, say analysts. Actor Imran Khan has three films and approx
Rs150 crore riding, but has no upcoming release this year. Trade analyst Vajir Singh explains, “There are still films that are in the initial stages of pre-production. More accurate figures will only come by once these films start rolling. But there’s no doubt that the real takkar continues to be between SRK, Salman, Akshay, Aamir and Ajay in the months ahead.”

Now it’s time for the moolah  at the box-office to give its verdict!