Filmstar shrugged off unpaid dues from hard-up franchise, new book reveals
When the Delhi Daredvils (now Capitals) were bleeding financially and did not have enough money to honour their contract with Akshay Kumar in 2009, he could have thrown a tantrum or worse, taken legal action. But the actor simply shrugged off the loss, according to the recently released memoir of cricket administrator Amrit Mathur.
"Akshay signed a three-year deal with Delhi Daredevils to shoot promotional films, attend meet and greet events and make appearances at corporate events," Mathur wrote in 'Pitchside: My Life in Indian Cricket' (Westland Sport).
"Apart from his Kotla act (Kumar performed some stunts), nothing much happened because DD didn't know how to leverage him. At the end of the season, during an elaborate post-mortem held against the backdrop of serious financial losses, DD decided to cancel or renegotiate the contract."
It was a tough job as Kumar’s contract had no exit clause.
"Akshay's contract provided no exit; on the contrary, it gave him solid guarantees for a period of three years. DD's lawyers approached Akshay's staff, wanting to revisit the contract, but they made no headway.
"The (legally correct) response from his side was that the contract didn't factor in early termination and it had run its course with full monetary compensation," Mathur writes.
"Seen from perspective of DD, Akshay's multi-crore contract could be equated to a self goal or hit-wicket dismissal. Considering the disastrous financial results and need for austerity, the star had become an avoidable expense. Knowing there was no legal lifeline available, DD appealed to Akshay for mercy."
The franchise chose Mathur as their emissary, sending him to meet Kumar while he was filming ‘Chandni Chowk to China’.
"After a shot, we returned to his vanity van and I, very hesitantly, explained the reason for my visit and outlined DD's financial troubles.
"No problem ji’, he said in a sympathetic manner. ‘If it's not working, let's close it’. I thought I hadn't heard him right.
"Seeing my confused look, he clarified slowly, 'Isko khatam kar dete hain (let us end this)'. When I mumbled about the stringent contract clauses, he reassured me, 'Koi baat nahin, main lawyer ko bol dunga (No problem, I will tell the lawyer)'."
Mathur was stunned by this most unexpected and magnanimous gesture.
"Even after so many years I am surprised that Akshay waived off such a large amount of money. Just like that -- a snap decision when he could have easily thrown the contract at us."