How much did MS Dhoni charge for his biopic?
Ever since the trailer of MS Dhoni’s biopic has been released, the whole of India is anxiously waiting for the release of 'MS Dhoni: The untold story' It will be the first occasion when a biopic on a cricketer's life will be released before his retirement from the game. And so the movie is generating justified buzz in the country.
As per a report published in the Daily Bhaskar, the skipper of India’s limited-overs game charged a sum of Rs. 60 crores for the movie to be made. As per other reports, Dhoni was paid Rs. 20 crores right after he gave his nod to the filmmakers to go ahead with the script based on his real life.
The biopic will show us the journey undertaken by Dhoni, from being a Ticket Collector at Kharagpur Railway Station, to becoming the captain of the Indian Cricket Team. The movie will also give us a brief insight about his past relationships, and the controversy which engulfed him regarding the expulsion of some senior cricketers from the Indian team.
Other reports by the media also claimed that the cricketer initially demanded a fee of Rs. 80 crores from the producers. But after negotiations, there was a break-up in the payment. He was paid Rs. 20 crores for his consent to the script, while the remaining 60 crores will be paid after the release of the movie.
There has been a surge of biopics in Hindi cinema recently. There is no denying the fact that sportspersons do charge a whopping amount to permit a story on their lives. However, there have been some exceptions too. Talking of previous popular sports biopics made in Bollywood, the fee demanded by other athletes was much lesser.
Indian boxer Mary Kom demanded only Rs. 25 crores for her biopic, which generated Rs.104 crores worldwide. But more surprising is the amount charged by former Indian Captain Mohammed Azharuddin for his biopic. Executive of Motion Pictures, Tony D’Souza was quoted confirming that Azhar did not charge any fee for his biopic.
“He has not taken a solitary penny. We are extremely cheerful that he helped us a ton from the beginning, right from the scripting procedure to shooting to advancements", Tony said.
Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput is essaying MS Dhoni's character on the big screen while Kiara Advani is playing the role of Mrs. Sakshi Dhoni in the biopic. Directed by Neeraj Pandey and produced by Fox Star Studios and Inspired Entertainment, the movie is slated for a September 30 release.