The buzz is that Emraan has quoted Rs 10 crore for all the fresh projects. Rumor mills say that the three Khans - Shahrukh, Salman and Aamir - charge about Rs 27-28 crore a film, besides taking a share in the profits. Also, A-listers like Hrithik Roshan and Ajay Devgn charge somewhere about Rs 20 crore per film while Ranbir Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor are believed to charge around Rs 10 crore. Now Emraan may also join them.
"I have increased my rate but I cannot tell you the exact figure. It is a safe price, it is not a crazy price. I have worked in the office of a producer, so I know what happens when they (actors) overprice. So I know what that price should be and it keeps me in the industry for a long haul," Emraan told reporters here last night, after unveiling the first of his upcoming film, `Shanghai`.
"I think as an actor I feel my rate should not burden the film. There are few actors, who charge more and then eventually it burdens the film, but I will never do that," the 32-year-old actor said.
Emraan has three releases lined up for this year, Mahesh Bhatt`s crime thriller, `Jannat 2` (May 4), Dibakar Banerjee`s political thriller `Shanghai` (June 8) and Vikram Bhatt`s 3D horror film, `Raaz 3` (August 31).
On his role in `Shanghai` he said, "Dibakar has the ability to bring out the actor of his comfort zone. And he made me eat lot of stuff, so that I become fat, have a paunch. Getting the physicality of the character was half the battle won. The character that I play is from Jodhpur. He is shady, repulsive in a certain sense, he is a mobile coordinator, small town journalist, he shoots porn films at night. This is definitely going to be one of the landmark film and characters of my career."
Ask him about steamy scenes, and he is quick to reply. "You will not miss the kiss, I can do two things with my lips... either I can chew pan or kiss. I have done something new in this film. I feel I have graduated from a serial kisser to a porn filmmaker in a way. I don`t know what is next," he quipped.