Not
many
will
know
this,
but
barely
five
days
after
the
release
of
arguably
the
worst
film
of
Ram
Gopal
Varma's
career,
Ram
Gopal
Varma
Ki
Aag,
was
a
business
deal
struck
for
his
next,
last
Friday's
much
awaited
Sarkar
Raj.
It
was
Jeetendra
and
Ekta
Kapoor's
Balaji
that
procured
the
rights
of
the
three
Bachchan
starrer.
As
per
reputed
trade
and
distribution
sources,
Ekta's
maternal
uncle,
the
well
known
filmmaker
Ramesh
Sippy,
who
looks
after
their
distribution
business,
acquired
the
rights
of
the
Amitabh,
Abhishek
and
Aishwarya
starrer,
Sarkar
Raj.
Reportedly,
Balaji
paid
anything
between
38.5-40
crore
for
the
deal.
With
Sarkar
Raj
having
grossed
around
$
550,000
(estimated)
from
just
its
first
weekend
in
the
US,
Balaji
must
be
hoping
for
good
returns
from
India
too.
Balaji
have
already
recovered
7-8
crore
of
their
investment
by
selling
the
overseas
rights
of
Sarkar
Raj
to
EROS
International.
Story first published: Tuesday, June 10, 2008, 9:51 [IST]