The makers of "Puli" have hit back at Sridevi over the remuneration issue. They have released a press release in which they have given details of the money spent on the yesteryear actress.
As per a report on Manorama, Shibu Thameens and PT Selvakumar have said in a statement they signed Sridevi for Rs 2.7 crore as remuneration apart from agreeing to pay her Rs 30 lakh as service tax.
They say later Sridevi's husband Boney Kapoor started demanding more money after the makers decided to release "Puli" in other languages. Kapoor told the makers the actress would only join the shoots if paid extra.
"After much deliberation, we decided to pay her 20 percent of the film's Hindi satellite rights, which was Rs 55 lakh, and Rs 15 lakh for the Telugu-dubbed version," said the producers.
The makers did not have plans to release "Puli" in Hindi. But based on Sridevi's advice, they decided to dub it for Bollywood. She also insisted on hiring a marketing manager, who charged Rs 8 lakh. Three costume designers were hired for "Puli", but Sridevi specifically wanted Manish Malhotra to design her clothes, for which the makers shelled out another Rs 50 lakh.
The producers said they have spent crores on Sridevi, and even after doing so much she did not turn up for the film's audio launch function in Chennai.
This attack comes after Sridevi approached the Mumbai Producers' Council claiming the makers were yet to pay her Rs 50 lakh for acting in "Puli".
"Puli" was made with a budget of more than Rs 100 crore, with Tamil stars Vijay, Sudeep, Shruthi Haasan and Hansika Motwani in the lead roles. Chimbu Deven has written the story and directed the film.
The mega-budget movie failed to make it big at the box office.
