Da.One

Agreed, Bollywood has lost crores this year because a lot of expensive films failed to retrieve their expected turnovers (Blue, of course, stands apart for its sheer wastage of money). But the biggest production companies seem to have blind belief in films that star Shah Rukh Khan. Nearly Rs 300 crore is riding on King Khan's shoulders.

Newsflash: Reliance Big Pictures has not hit rock bottom with the poor turnover of the Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai starrer Raavan. Neither has Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Mori's Kites debacle at the box office obstructed their soaring fund levels.

The buzz in the trade is that Reliance Big Pictures has bought the rights of Don 2 from Excel Entertainment for Rs 125 crore, which is about Rs 25 crore more than what they purchased Kites for. The deal has taken place even before Don 2 has gone on the floors, which implies that even in today's times when films are flopping days after their release, the buyers in the market have extreme faith in a film that has Shah Rukh playing the lead.

Added to this is, there is talk in the industry of Eros International buying Shah Rukh's home-production RA.One for a whopping Rs 175 crore.

A leading distributor says, "Shah Rukh rocks. He is still one of the top three stars in this country. His film guarantees good returns. Yes, Reliance Big Pictures has bought Don 2 for an amount which is definitely more than Rs 100 crore. But I think that Shah Rukh's deal with Eros International on RA.One could be a funding proposal, which implies that Shah Rukh can still sell the film to other buyers."

Even trade analysts in the film industry seem to second this view. A leading trade-analyst says, "I am unaware of the exact figures between Red Chillies Entertainment and Eros International, but I know that Shah Rukh is asking for at least Rs 150 crore for RA.One, wherein he has used some top-notch technicians to take his project to a very high level."

Priti Shahani, chief strategy and marketing officer of Reliance Big Pictures confirmed, "It's true that we have Don 2 in our slate of films for next year, but there is no truth in the purchase price that is being speculated in the market."

An official from Eros International also confirmed that their latest purchase is RA.One, while refusing to reveal the exact terms and conditions of the agreement.

Sunil Lulla (President, Eros International), Amit Khanna (CEO, Reliance Big Pictures), Ritesh Siddhwani (Excel Entertainment) and Shah Rukh Khan remained unavailable for comment.

Currently, Shah Rukh is busy shooting for RA.One. As soon as he completes it, he'll start work on Don 2, which co-stars Priyanka Chopra and Arjun Rampal. And all this hard work does indeed pay off. And how!

Source: http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/30/2010070820100708031855117e5cf73/DaOne.html