Ekta Kapoor & family take pay cut; still get over Rs 5 crore

New Delhi: The austerity bug seems to have bitten the idiot-box as Ekta Kapoor, the star TV content producer, as also her father Jeetendra and mother Shobha Kapoor, have taken a big pay cut at Balaji Telefilms. The total remuneration to the three fell by about Rs 3.8 crore to Rs 5.6 crore in the last fiscal year at Balaji Telefilms, which incidentally took a hit to the tune of over Rs 27 crore because of their much-hyped serial based on epic tale of Mahabharat biting the dust.

The company had built a costly set exclusively for the serial, which was expected to run for at least three years, but it went off air and Balaji was forced to depreciate the entire set value owing to the fact that the set had a periodic feel and could not have been used for any other serial. "This resulted in an additional loss of Rs 9.5312 crore. Related to this is also the provision made for bad debts of Rs 18.1638 crore due to doubtful recovery of debts from the broadcaster (TV channel)," Balaji Chairman Jeetendra told the company`s shareholders in its annual report 2008-09. "It has been a trying fiscal for all industry players and Balaji has not remained untouched from the heat of global economic meltdown," Jeetendra said further. The total employee cost, including managerial pay, for the company known for its family dramas and the `saas-bahu` serials, fell from Rs 13.6 crore to Rs 13.2 crore. Bureau Report