Bollywood star Akshay Kumar is apparently charging Star Plus twice the fee he charged Colors for Khatron Ke Khiladi for the desi version of Top Chef f His fans r across the world were urging him to move on to something that s was not action, says a media report.
The world and its distant cousins, by now, know that Akshay Kumar will soon be stepping into model Padma Lakshmi's shoes in the desi adaptation of Top Chef that currently airs on AXN. Star Plus will add the Indian `tadka' to the show.
The production house anchoring the show internationally is Magical Elves Production, the same company that helmed the popular Project Runway.
The buzz is that Kumar, who is currently shooting for Anees Bazmee's Thank You in Canada with Sonam Kapoor, has been offered twice the fee he was paid for hosting two seasons of Khatron Ke Khiladi on Colors, in 2008 and 2009.
The first season of the show was also considered the channel driver, ever since it started earning the channel its ratings.
Kumar was reportedly paid Rs 1.25 crore per episode (Rs 110 crore for 13 episodes in all) and Rs 90 lakh an episode for Season One and Two respectively. The episodes during Season One were telecast at 10 pm.
Following higher expectations, Season Two was pulled into the 9 pm slot. Sources claim that the deal between Star Plus and him has been finalised and he will be paid twice his price.
“He has been offered between Rs 1.5 crore to 1.8 crore an episode, which is higher than what he worked for on Colors. He becomes the second actor to double his fee and, hopefully, overtakes Salman Khan, who is being paid twice his last season's fee for Dus Ka Dum Season Three. The paperwork has been completed.
Akshay has agreed to do the show and once he returns from Canada, the shooting sched- ule, venue and other details will be locked,“ says our source, close to the actor.
A source adds that Kumar had constantly been getting mails from fans across the world to do a TV show for housewives.
“His fans were urging him to move on to something that was not action. He worked as a chef when he was in Bangkok, learning martial arts. He loves cooking and, even today, can stir up a cool meal. Akshay was keen when Star Plus approached him for the show, though he had other offers,“ adds the source.
Akshay Kumar admits that whenever he is in Bangkok, he ensures that he visits the place he used to work at.
“It has nostalgic value. It's the place where I worked and funded my martial arts edu- cation. Bangkok has almost become a second home, e because I've shot so many films there. The traffic situation hasn't changed much. It is still as congested as it was e then. The only difference I see is the bridges,“ he adds.
The actor's spokesperson confirms that the channel has approached him for the show, but refuses to add more to the information. “Nothing has been decided as yet. Once the paperwork is sorted, everyone will know the details,“ the spokesperson says.
