When was the last time you heard of what a director got paid? In an industry that shrouds its directors' salaries in secret, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's rumoured Rs 35 crore (for his Hrithik Roshan-Aishwarya Rai starrer Guzaarish) came as a shocker. We examine the complex pay equation Bollywood directors have worked out for themselves

LAST week, a director's fee made big news Sanjay Leela Bhansali is reportedly being paid Rs 35 crore for his film with UTV, titled Guzaarish. With a formidable reputation and having signed on the dream couple Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai, Bhansali does warrant a huge fee, but the industry is abuzz at the Rs 35 crore figure. This in an era of innumerable media stories on how much a star is being paid or what fat amount a film is sold for.

Is Bhansali then the highest-paid director in Bollywood? Not by a long shot. Many directors who also produce their own films and sign their own cheques make more. They pocket the profits as well as their director's fee.
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So those like Aditya Chopra, Rakesh Roshan, Karan Johar and Farhan Akhtar are bigger guys and would be worth much more if they were on the market, to direct films for other producers.



Aditya Chopra is said to top the list his Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi apparently earned him Rs 50 crore in profits alone the industry also counts this as his director's fee. If the lists of producer-directors and independent directors were mixed up, Bhansali probably comes in fifth or sixth.

Bollywood makes its grades by its old barometer: box office success. You're worth as much money as you can spin, which means that these directors are not necessarily rated on how talented or brilliant they are, but how much of an audience they can nab and what those numbers are. Since we're a star-driven industry, this also means, as one director puts it, "Your salary is directly proportionate to the superstar or stars you can sign on for your film." But of course, no one will talk about what that salary actually is.

One, the directors themselves keep their pay packets close to their chests. Two, ambiguity means that their loyalists can bloat figures to make the directors feel important. Three, the production houses calculate that any talk of fees will narrow down their budget and thus hamper the chances of selling their film at the highest possible price. It doesn't work the way it does for actors, who actively circulate rumours of their fees so it can help them land even sweeter deals.u00a0

It's difficult then to trawl out accurate figures for directors' salaries, especially with few going on record. Producer-director fees are nebulous because there is no accounting for how much of the production money the director may pocket. And independent director fees are dictated by what they are worth on the market Bhansali obviously tops this bracket, with Anees Bazmi, Abbas-Mustan and David Dhawan coming up behind.u00a0

Rajkumar Hirani and Farah Khan would be the most sought-after directors if they stepped out from the Vinod Chopra Films and Red Chillies banners. But Farah is believed to be content directing for Shah Rukh Khan he's said to pay her decent, but enhances that with gifts and bonuses that he showers on her (and other staff) when the film becomes a monster hit. Raju has reportedly worked out a good package for 3 Idiots. With the film said to be sold for over Rs 90 crore, producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra has split a share of the profits after allowing for the film's budget, with Raju. Another director with commercial promise is Anurag Basu, worth about Rs 8 crore in the market.

Fees, like friendships, are fickle in the industry. They fluctuate madly. Three flops and the director is going to find it hard to nab a producer. Deliver a hit and your stock immediately shoots up. "There are some producer-directors, considered big shots in the industry, who would be worth nothing much if they were to go on the market because they haven't delivered a hit in years," says one source succinctly.

Ratings and figures are then largely speculative looks like Bollywood directors are as secretive about their salaries as they are about the plots of their films.

(All given figures are based on industry buzz and backed by production houses of repute)