Why Ranveer Singh Gets ₹50 Cr and Akshaye Khanna Just ₹2.5 Cr And What It Reveals About Your Marketing Funnel

Dec 24, 05:06AM

Theatres Are a Water Pool (Top of Funnel – Awareness)

Picture the first week of a big Bollywood release.
Theatres are like a giant water pool:

• Full of curiosity
• Heavy footfall
• Maximum buzz

Everyone’s inside: fans, haters, reviewers, “let’s just see what the hype is about” crowd.

Then week two hits… and almost 40% of that audience disappears.
Same screen. Same actors. Same film.

That’s not just a script or star problem.
That’s a funnel problem.

Exactly like marketing:

• Ads bring traffic
• Influencers bring eyeballs
• Launch hype fills the funnel

But if the funnel leaks, attention drains fast.

Ranveer Singh = Pouring Water into the Pool (Customer Acquisition)

Ranveer Singh’s ₹50 Cr fee is not just for “acting with energy”.
He is the water tanker parked outside the theatre.

He brings:

• Massive reach
• Pre‑built fanbase
• Media attention
• First‑week footfall that justifies 5–8 shows a day

In marketing language, Ranveer is your:

• Paid ads
• Influencer collabs
• PR headlines
• Top‑of‑funnel awareness blitz

He pours water into the pool.

Without a Ranveer‑level engine:

• The pool never fills
• Opening numbers look sad
• Word‑of‑mouth doesn’t even get a chance to start

That’s why brands (and producers) spend violently at the top.
If nobody walks in, nobody can fall in love with the product.

The Leak: 40% Audience Loss After Week One

Here’s the part most people ignore:

• Big opening ≠ long run
• Reach ≠ retention
• Traffic ≠ trust

Most movies   and most brands   die here.

The pool looks full in week one.
But there is a hole at the bottom:

• People come
• They watch
• They shrug
• They never return
• They never recommend

The same thing happens to websites and apps:

• Great launch
• Good CPC
• Decent click‑through
• And then… nothing

Congratulations, you rented attention.
You didn’t earn loyalty.

Akshaye Khanna = The Knob That Stops the Leak (Retention & Trust)

Now enter Akshaye Khanna.
He’s not the poster boy. He’s the guy who makes you say:
“Arre, film theek thi… but Akshaye was superb.”

He doesn’t bring:

• 10 million fan clubs
• Airport pap coverage
• Brand‑deal reels

He brings:

• Performance depth
• Credibility
• Emotional connect
• That “this was actually worth my time” feeling

In funnel terms, Akshaye is your:

• Retention strategy
• Product quality
• UX and support
• Brand trust and experience

He is the knob under the pool.
Turn it tight, and:

• People recommend the movie
• Reviews improve daily
• Collections don’t crash in week two
• The same audience pulls new audience in

That’s recirculation.
That’s LTV.
That’s where profit hides.

The Real Marketing Lesson

Most brands only “hire Ranveer”.

They:

• Pump money into ads
• Boost every post
• Spam influencers
• Celebrate impressions

And they completely forget their “Akshaye”:

• No retention plan
• Weak onboarding
• Meh content after the first hook
• No relationship building
• No real reason to come back

Result?

• High customer acquisition cost
• Low lifetime value
• Team always under pressure: “Leads kam aa rahe hain”
• Funnel leaking faster than the media budget can fill it

Ranveer fills the pool.
Akshaye stops it from emptying.

Both are necessary but retention is always cheaper than refill.

So is ₹50 Cr vs ₹2.5 Cr unfair?
From a storytelling lens, maybe.
From a funnel lens, it’s brutally logical:

• You pay a premium to start the flow
• You invest smartly to make sure it doesn’t go to waste

Casting is just marketing strategy wearing a designer outfit.