UTV acquires global rights of Joker for less than 40 cr

13 Jun 2012

Now this is one piece of news that has turned out to be a pleasant surprise for all involved and also predicted a healthy trend in the making. Despite a 'back-in-roaring-form' Akshay Kumar as the lead protagonist in Joker, Shirish Kunder hasn't gone overboard as far as his Joker is concerned. As per trade insiders, the film has been sold to UTV at a price that would raise many an eyebrow, though with a smile and a sense of positivity.

"The film has been completed in a controlled budget, all thanks to Shirish who has made it possible since he is technically very well equipped. He planned Joker in such a way that it turns out to be commercially viable for all involved", says a source, "UTV is also mighty excited about the film's prospects since unlike Akshay's previous outings that have carried a very heavy price tag due to their pitching as out and out commercial entertainers, they have managed to acquire Joker at less than Rs. 40 crores."

Since the film hasn't cost as much, the selling has been on the same lines. Even though the film's price could have been jacked after Rowdy Rathore and Housefull 2 scoring a century each, Shirish chose to be fair to the distributors and also smart enough not to overprice it.

Confirms a trade insider, "UTV has bought global rights of Joker at a price less than Rs. 40 crores and that includes theatrical, satellite, home video, overseas and all other rights. While recovering this would be a cakewalk, there are good profits expected to be make."

Many in the industry have wondered though if Akshay would turn out to be the first ever actor in the history of Indian cinema to boast of three back to back 100 crores grosser.

"Well, when that happens, it would be seen. As of now, the next immediate target for Joker is to reach out to kids. That's the gift that the team wants to give to its younger audience. A path has been paved for the film to find its target audience. It is a win-win situation for all involved, whether Akshay, Shirish or UTV. Now one just hopes that looking at the current market where films are doing great business, the makers don't oversell Joker to the sub-distributors with lure to make quicker profits. Higher collections would only consolidate faith amongst top Bollywood superstars to invest in such outings. It would be interesting to see if Joker is the one that starts the trend", a corporate bigwig adds.

Come September and we would see that for ourselves.