'Lingaa' rights goes for Rs 120 Crore
How much does a film starring Superstar Rajinikanth sell for? His fans, waiting with bated breath for Lingaa, would say that the sky is the limit for 'Thalaivar'. Trade estimates have varied from Rs 175 crore to Rs 200 crore, but it has reliably learnt from sources in Eros International, the firm that has picked up the distribution rights for a competitive Rs 120 crore.
'There are a lot of inflated numbers doing the rounds but the truth is we have bought the rights to the film for a very very competitive price of Rs 100 crore with another Rs 20 crore investment for additional expenditure,' said the source. Eros will be distributing the film in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, besides other languages, on December 12 - Rajinikanth's birthday.
The film, which will see Rajinikanth reviving his partnership with K S Ravikumar, who delivered some of his greatest hits like Padaiyappa and Muthu, was grabbed by Eros after they co-produced the ill-fated motion capture flick Kochadaiyaan.
'Rajinikanth is a big brand in Indian cinema and we are confident that his return to making a motion picture will bring back huge returns. He has delivered a film like Robot that went on to gross something like Rs 400 crore, so we are confident that Lingaa can only do much better,' said Kamal Jain, CFO of Eros International.
The movie's audio launch is slated for Sunday, when the trailers will also be released. Besides the primary three languages, Eros has decided to subtitle the film and release it in Japan at the earliest.
'He has a huge fan base there and Eros is looking to tap into it. We are understanding better just how far his reach is because Soundarya Rajinikanth has now come on board,' he added.
In more good news, it appears as though retirement is not on the horizon for the 63-year-old Superstar. When asked how they decided to continue their association with Rajinikanth after the trade losses incurred with Kochadaiiyaan, a source in Eros Now South said, 'We have established a long-term relationship with Rajinikanth and will make an announcement about his next film soon.
We are interested in being involved with it and will most probably co-produce it.' This could well be Shankar's sequel to the 2010 sci-fi hit Robot.
News Posted: 11 November, 2014
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