Bollywood willing to help out India. But only if they get paid a lot.

I love my India (but only for a price). At the recently concluded Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, an eleven-minute Bollywood extravaganza cost nearly Rs 40 crore ($8.9 million). At the same time, the daily allowance for Indian athletes was reduced by $30.

According to Shoaib Iqbal, deputy speaker of Delhi’s Vidhan Sabha, Rs11 crore was sanctioned by the central government and Rs29 crore was provided by the Delhi government for the ceremony.

Several Bollywood stars who didn't even participate in the 11 minute extravaganza were flown to Melbourne and put up in 5-star hotels courtesy of the fiscally responsible Indian government.

Some of the stars and staff who showed up to be paid all in the name of patriotism included:

• Manisha Koirala and Pooja Bedi allegedly who flew in but did not perform.
• Aishwarya Rai charged Rs 3 crore (~$675,000) for a few minutes work
• Rani Mukherjee charged Rs 2 crore (~$450,000) also charged for a few strenuous minutes of exertion.
• Priyanka Chopra and Lara Dutta also charged Rs 1 crore (~$225,000) simply for waving to the crowd.
• Hairdressers, make-up artists, and family members and friends were also allowed to get in on the deal with accomodation in luxury hotels to accomodate the stars.

“Though these stars repeatedly said they were glad to be part of Team India, they charged us huge amounts. I have a recording of Aishwarya Rai where she declares that she was participating solely due to her patriotic fervour. Nevertheless, she charged a whopping Rs3 crore to perform for a few minutes," stated Iqbal.

I find this whole escapade disturbing and hilarious on multiple fronts:

1. One billion people and no Olympic gold medals - As a country, we are either the most athletically uninclined people in the universe or just the most severely underfunded athletic department in the world. China goes to the winter and summer olympics and racks up numerous medals every time. We send a small group of poorly trained 'athletes' to these events on a global stage and come back empty handed everytime. Yes we win medals at the Asian games or the Commonwealth games, but who honestly cares about those? And so now to add insult to injury, our government is throwing money at Bollywood stars instead of building gyms, playing fields, swimming pools, etc. Priorities.
2. Bollywood stars are full of crap. If you listen to interviews with Bollywood stars, they always seem to say the right thing about a movie or their love of India, but this is proof positive that in the end, it comes down the almighty Rupee (or dollar). It's particularly appalling with someone like Aishwarya who acts all righteous in her media interviews but then can ask for absurd amounts of money for a few minutes of work.
3. Some Indian government officials have the IQ of monkeys. I can think of at least a couple million better uses of nearly $9 million when it comes to India. It's good to see our politicians putting so much thought into how they expend the country's resources. After all, all the fault doesn't lie with the Bollywood stars as if someone wanted to give me hundreds of thousands of dollars for a few minutes work, I wouldn't say no either.