'Housefull' is not a very expensive film: Sajid Nadiadwala

Nadiadwala had roped in a string of Hollywood stars including Sylvester Stallone and Bondgirl Denise Richards in his last film 'Kambakkth Ishq' but the Akshay Kumar-Kareena Kapoor starrer failed to create any magic at the box-office.

But despite the presence of stars like Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Arjun Rampal, Riteish Deshmukh, Lara Dutta and Jiah Khan, this Sajid Khan directed movie was made in a reasonable budget, the producer said.
"Let me state the budget of the film on record here. 'Housefull' is just a 40-45 crores film. It was never an expensive film to begin with," Nadiadwala said.

"My last release 'Kambakkth Ishq' was expensive but that was because it had so many foreign actors. I have been making films for 25 years now and I am not mad to invest in something from where recovery becomes an issue," he said.
Nadiyadwala also denied that Akshay, who plays a nerd in the movie, took a pay cut for his role in 'Housefull'.

"Not at all, Akshay's fees didn't have to come down for 'Housefull' due to any reason whatsoever. His fees has never been so exorbitant; it has always been only in papers," he said.

Nadiyadwala has made a string of films with Akshay Kumar like 'Heyy Babyy', 'Jaan E Mann', 'Mujhse Shaadi Karogi', and 'Waqt Hamara Hai'.

Akshay had a rather average year overall in 2009. Majority of his films did take a box office opening but a major blockbuster on the lines of 'Singh Is Kinng', 'Welcome' or a 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa' evaded him throughout the year.

'De Dana Dan' did good business but 'Kambakkth Ishq', 'Blue', 'Chandni Chowk To China' and '8X10 Tasveer' failed to take off at the box office despite the hype. Now all eyes would be on 'Housefull' to see if the superstar goes on to see a reversal of fortune and delivers a much awaited blockbuster.

But Nadiyadwala hopes that the latest movie will entice audience with its rib-tickling comedy.

"The super success of '3 Idiots' has taught us that cost of making a film is not important at all; it's all about things going well at the script level," the producer said.
"At the end of the day everyone has his own style of making a film and add the kind of ingredients which he feels would be good enough to entice audiences. Sajid (Khan), the director of the film, had his own way of making 'Housefull' and I am confident that it would turn out to be a good outing for everyone associated with it."