Sajid Nadiadwala's upcoming movie, "Phantom", which features Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif, is rumoured to have been made on a budget of Rs 40 crore and the producer is very content about the film's budget.
In a statement, Nadiadwala stated that apart from the story and the cast, budget also plays an important role in a film's success and credits director Kabir Khan and the entire team for planning the budget of "Phantom" in a smart way.
"It has been done very intelligently, thanks to Kabir and my EPs. Although, they filmed in around six countries and about eight (international) cities, it was all intelligently planned. Everything worked out well," said Sajid Nadiadwala in a statement.
Citing examples of his previous films, the producer asserted that smart budgeting helps in earning profit even when the film is made on a low budget. "Last year, films like 'Highway', 'Heropanti' and '2 States' worked because they were cost-effective. So, the budget plays an important role in film-making today," stated Sajid Nadiadwala.
It must be mentioned, "2 States" was made on a budget of Rs 25 crore and earned a box office collection of Rs 110 crore (gross), "Heropanti" earned Rs 55 crore (gross) against a cost of Rs 15 crore and "Highway", made with a budget of Rs 9 crore, earned Rs 30 crore in gross collections.
While the budget of Sajid Nadiadwala's last film "Kick" starring Salman Khan was approximately Rs 100 crore, it became one of the biggest blockbusters of all time. Saif Ali Khan's "Phantom", made for Rs 40 crore, appears to be more or less reasonable.
Although Sajid Nadiadwala's films have been consistently doing good business since 2014, Saif Ali Khan is apparently struggling to make an impact at the box office, considering his last two back-to-back flops, "Humshakals" and "Happy Ending".
Moreover, Saif Ali Khan's 2012 film "Agent Vinod", based on the concept of terrorism, turned out to be a flop at the box office, making a lifetime collection of Rs 43 crore (Bollywood Hungama report) against a total budget of about Rs 60 crore.
Now, Saif Ali Khan's "Phantom" is ready to hit screens. The movie is based on global terrorism, with a special focus on the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, but with a lesser budget than "Agent Vinod".
The film is slated to release on 28 August and it will be interesting to see if Sajid Nadiadwala proves to be lucky for Saif Ali Khan and the former continues to enjoy box office success.
