Punjabi rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh is now the costliest pop artist in Bollywood. The Angreji Beat singer has charged Rs. 70 lakh for a song in a film titled Mastaan, starring Naseerudin Shah and his younger son Vivaan. It is the biggest amount paid to a song artist in Bollywood till date.


Singh has turned hot property after shooting to fame with his latest album, International Villager. Many tracks from the compilation are topping music lists such as world iTunes and BBC Asian charts.

The film’s producer Sunil Bohra confirms that Honey Singh has been roped in with a hefty fee. “Honey has become a household name after International Villager. I instantly fell in love with the song (that Singh composed and he plans to feature in the movie) as soon as I heard it. Though he wanted to launch that song as one of his own big hits, now, it will prove a game changer for my movie. I feel Rs. 70 lakh is less for it … I would have signed him for more if it was required,” he says.
 
Bohra has decided to shoot two videos of the song … one for the movie and the other, featuring Singh, for the promotions.
Honey has apparently sung the song in Hindi, not Punjabi, and it is expected to be released in two weeks from now. “I have paid more than 10 times of what we pay our usual singers because I am sure that the song will be a blockbuster and will prove beneficial for my movie,” says Bohra.

Top singers’ fee per song in Bollywood
 
Sonu Nigam: Rs. 10 – Rs. 12lakh
Mika Singh: Rs. 10 lakh
Pritam Chakraborty (singing + music composing) — Rs. 25 lakh
Sunidhi Chauhan — Rs. 3 – Rs. 5 lakh
Shreya Ghoshal – Rs. 3 – Rs. 5 lakh

Minakshi Saini , Hindustan Times
New Delhi, May 01, 2012