Most expensive films

So its official now that Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s upcoming film ‘Padmavati’ will be his most magnificent project ever and costliest too as the budget has been decided at a whopping Rs 180-190 crore. Yes, you read that right! While the director had told earlier that he would need around Rs 200 crore for his next big project, the set budget is no big a surprise for the fans of Bhansali’s works which are defined by grandeur and magnificence. ‘Padmavati’ is based on the story of Sultan Allauddin Khilji to be played by Ranveer Singh who wants Padmavati to be played by Deepika Padukone. Shahid Kapoor will be playing Padmavati’s husband and King of Chittor, Raja Rawal Ratan Singh in the film. While Deepika Padukone is said to be charging Rs 12 crore for the role, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor are reportedly taking home Rs 8 crore each for their parts.

S Shankar’s upcoming bilingual sci-fi, ‘2.0,’ which is a sequel to the hit 2010 film, ‘Robot,’ is grand in every sense of the term. Right from starring South mega star, Rajinikanth to having a Bollywood’s Khiladi as the antagonist and cutting edge VFX, 2.0 meets all the parameters that are a prerequisite of a blockbuster film. Naturally the budget of the film, too, has to be as grand. While the film is already touted to be the most expensive film in Indian cinema, surpassing even the ‘Baahubali’ series, a particular fight sequence in the film alone amounted to Rs 20 crore, as reported by BollywoodLife. Reportedly, this fight between Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar is the most thrilling sequence of the film and is part of the climax.

While 2.0 might be the most expensive film at present, there are other films that have held the top position in the past. Move on to read about some of the most expensive films made in India…

Bahubali: India’s answer to Hollywood’s hit film series 300, is a grand visual delight in every sense. The magnum opus featuring Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Tamannaah and Anushka Shetty is made on a whopping budget of Rs 250 crore. Featuring never seen before gravity defying stunts shot in a grand manner, huge sets and beautiful cinematography, Bahubali is all that we need for a mega entertaining experience. From bringing about 1000 horses from Rajasthan for shooting, to building swords, armour, jewellery from scratch, the film has all elements to boast about, including a very expensive romantic song sequence which will not be shown on social media or television. The SS Rajmouli directed film has released in three languages including Hindi, Tamil and Telugu and is backed by Karan Johar.

Ra.One: Shah Rukh Khan’s sci-fi film Ra.One was a first of its kind film made in Bollywood. With a budget of around Rs 125 crore, Ra.One realised SRK’s childhood dream of becoming a superhero. Apart from the costly VFX, what came as the second biggest expense was the costume. While Khan’s latex costume ranged around Rs 1 crore, Arjun Rampal’s red suit was made of 3-inch thick solid rubber. Both had micro-computer circuitry too which made the things very difficult for the actors wearing them. And we will definitely remember King Khan’s efforts in setting an example.

Krrish 3: Hrithik Roshan gave India its own superhero Krrish, but everything comes at a cost. Directed by Rakesh Roshan, Krrish 3 cost the father-son duo a whopping Rs 115 crore. But they managed to earn the amount back along with heavy profits. It is said the Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies VFX took care of the special effects of the film, which were revised a few dozen times before inclusion at a cost of about Rs 26 crore. Not to forget Kangana’s latex rubber costume worth around Rs 10 lakh each, and Vivek Oberoi’s metal suit weighing 28 kg, the film had too many things to boast of.

Bang Bang: It takes Rs 140 crore to remake the Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz-starrer film Knight and Day. As two of the highest paid Bollywood actors, Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif, united for the action-packed flick, things were expected to be huge in every way. The filmmakers roped in Andy Armstrong (Hollywood action director who has worked on The Amazing Spiderman 2) to deliver the breathtaking and death defying stunts. Also, the action sequences involved Hrithik driving an F1 car, water-skiing while being tied to a sea-plane and doing the fly board stunts. As if this was not enough to make it grand, the film was widely shot at locations in Prague, US, Thailand and Greece.

Dhoom 3: The Dhoom series is known for its big stars, hot bombshells, expensive bikes and never seen before chase scenes. And every sequel gets bigger and better with more and more money going in the project. The third film in the series, Dhoom 3, boasted of one of the most expensive songs – ‘Malang’ - ever made in Bollywood, which cost the makers a whopping Rs 5 crore. Thank God, the speed flick always manages to earn double the amount invested.

I: Shankar’s I was an epic film, be it the extravagant sets, make-up, movie length or budget. Made at a cost of about Rs 100 crore, I was extensively shot in China, Bangkok, Jodhpur and Mysore. Several international technicians and experts were roped in for the project and martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo-ping and Anl Arasu were called in for stunt sequences. Actual cyclists of China were hired for a dramatic cycle fight scene shot in China. Lingesan’s hunchback look was created by none other than Christien Tinsley and Domini Till of Paa fame.

Robot: Rajinikanth is the God of Indian cinema and just the name is sufficient to make a film grand. The actor turned robot at an eye-popping cost of about Rs 150 crore. Featuring Aishwarya Rai as the female lead, the film had everything, from robotic lions, several kinds of Rajinikanth robots, huge sets, to anti-gravity stunts. It was the first Indian film to have a Legacy Effects studio which enabled them to get prosthetic make-up and animatronics. Talking about costumes, 57 dresses were prepared for Aishwarya whereas suits for Rajinikanth’s robotic version, Chitti, were made from copper.