Mahesh Babu's remuneration doubled for director Anil Ravipudi film?

Superstar Mahesh Babu, who is currently busy shooting for Maharshi, is said to have doubled his remuneration for director Anil Ravipudi's next film. He will get 50 per cent of the theatrical business as his salary.

Mahesh Babu had recently called off his project with Sukumar to work with young director Anil Ravipudi, who is basking in on the success of F2 – Fun and Frustration. Ever since he announced it, a lot has been speculated about various aspects of this movie, which happens to be the 26^th movie of Price.

Mahesh Babu's next film, which is tentatively known as Mahesh 26, is likely to be produced by Anil Sunkara and Dil Raju. Anil Ravipudi has reportedly given an estimate of its budget as Rs 50 crore, which is said to be excluding the remuneration of the actor, who is said to be getting 50 per cent of the theatrical business.

Mahesh Babu's previous outing Bharat Ane Nenu has earned Rs 40 crore from the sale of its satellite, digital and Hindi dubbing rights. Now, the maker has planned to sell these rights of his next movie for Rs 50 crore, which is said to be possible considering the initial hype surrounding this untitled movie.

Bharat Ane Nenu had fetched Rs 100 crore for its producer from the sale of its theatrical rights. Mahesh 26 is expected to get more than this amount. Even if it earns the same price, the superstar would get a paycheck of Rs 50 crore for this film. It is the double amount of what he is said to be getting for his landmark 25 movie Maharshi for which he is reportedly charging Rs 25 crore as his salary.

With Rs 25 crore as his remuneration of Baahubali films, Prabhas was the highest paid actor in the Telugu film industry earlier. Megastar Chiranjeevi replaced him, by quoting Rs 30 crore as his salary for his 151^st movie Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy. Now, Mahesh Babu is setting a new record for other Telugu heroes.

The interesting aspect is that unlike other biggies, Mahesh 26 will take little time for its production. The buzz is that director Anil Ravipudi has planned to wrap it up within six months and release it in the cinema halls by the end of this year. If it happens as per his plans, it is going to be a very beneficial project for Mahesh.