'Bigg Boss' to earn Big B Rs2.25 cr/episode

Big B comes at a price. And Boss, at a really Bigg price...

A source said Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan will be paid about Rs2.25 crore per episode of the third season of Bigg Boss, the Indian adaptation of the reality show Big Brother. Earlier reports had suggested that Bachchan would get about Rs1.5 crore per episode.

“When Amitabh Bachchan was approached for the show, the channel and the production house expected the payment figures to be big,” the source said. “Negotiations started with Rs4 crore per episode and ended at about Rs2.25 crore. The channel decided to invest big money to create maximum buzz.”

Though Bigg Boss 3 will have 84 episodes, Bachchan will appear only once a week. But he will also be required for special shows like those involving wild card entries. Thus, his total earnings  are likely to be between Rs30 crore and Rs40 crore.

In his previous television stint, he tried to make crorepatis of contestants in Kaun Banega Crorepati. KBC, as the show was popularly known, was based on the UK’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

Big B had upped the television industry’s payment structure when he had decided to appear on KBC, which redefined his career. Since then, many Bollywood actors have made a foray into television. “Considering Bachchan’s huge star status and appeal cutting across age groups, the channel is sure about the returns,” the source said.

When Bigg Boss first started, Arshad Warsi was the sutradhar. In the second season, it was Shilpa Shetty.

The channel is yet to zero in on the contestants of Bigg Boss 3.