After tasting huge success with 'iSmart Shankar,' popular director Puri Jagannath is making its sequel 'Double iSmart' with action hero Ram Pothineni, reportedly demanding fancy rates for its Hindi dubbing rights. Buoyed by the presence of Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, producers Puri and Charmme are looking to grab a good sum from Hindi distributors. "Producers are demanding Rs 20 crore for Hindi dubbing rights of 'Double iSmart' which is truly on the higher side, although it is a perfect action film," says a Hindi distributor, who feels that Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt's role in the movie will trigger some interest. "Sanjay Dutt's presence adds some value but only to some extent. However, demanding fancy pay is unfair and unviable," he adds.
Actually, the Hindi dubbing rights of 'iSmart Shankar' were traded for Rs 7 crores, and it did very well across India. "Hindi viewers have changed now, and many Telugu films dubbed in Hindi have bombed. Even Nani's much-hyped action film 'Dasara' had no takers, and Viswak Sen's 'Das Ki Dhamki also fared badly among North Indian viewers, so all action films are not surefire winners," he adds.
He admits that the rates would be justified only if there were more Hindi actors and if the story had a good pan-India connection, then only Puri's fancy demand would be met. "More actors from Bollywood and the universal theme also come into play while discussing Hindi dubbing rights, so there is some time for fixing deals," he concludes.
