Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (35) is the highest paid Indian film heroine. Still, for her to land an eye-watering Rs 6 crore for a single film — Shankar’s The Robot — is something. Bonus: she serenades Tamil superstar Rajnikanth. Shankar last directed Rajni in Sivaji.

The Robot is India’s most expensive film to date. It was reportedly budgeted at Rs 128.70 crore but after one schedule in Brazil, the budget was expanded to Rs 150 crore. That’s when the original producers— Ayngaran and Eros — upped and left, leaving the film to the loving care of the Brothers Maran (Sun TV) who were delighted to take over.

Reports have it that with a 27 per cent hike in crew remuneration (most of the technicians are American and have to be paid in dollars), the cost of The Robot or Endhiran, as it is called in Tamil, is set to skyrocket to Rs 165 crore. A new high for Indian cinema.

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