Boney Kapoor's Shrewd Negotiations Secured Sridevi's Stardom

According to a recent interview, in the past, producer Boney Kapoor took an unconventional approach to securing his wife Sridevi as the lead actress in his films. Kapoor revealed that when he first approached Sridevi, then a top Bollywood star, for his 1986 film "Joshilay", her mother asked for a fee of ₹10 lakh. However, Kapoor negotiated and agreed to pay her ₹11 lakh, higher than the ₹8.5 lakh she had received for her previous film.

Kapoor's shrewd negotiations did not stop there. He also hiked the salaries of Sridevi's staff from ₹30,000 to ₹50,000 and ensured they stayed in the same hotel as the actress. Furthermore, Kapoor set a condition that Sridevi would charge ₹15 lakh per film going forward, a figure her mother was initially shocked by. However, Kapoor delivered on his promise, securing Sridevi's services for ₹15 lakh in films like "Chandni" and "Gurudev".

Kapoor's strategy paid off, as he continued to negotiate higher fees for Sridevi, eventually securing her services for ₹25 lakh per film. This was a significant achievement, as even Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan was commanding similar fees at the time. Kapoor's efforts to ensure Sridevi's stardom and financial security cemented her position as one of the highest-paid actresses in the industry.