New Year, new rates

It's that time of the year when everyone says 'Goodbye-Tata' to the year gone by and get all geared up to say Welcome to the New Year. In between the departure of the old year and the advent of New Year lies something the 'midnight' for which everyone waits with bated breath, to welcome the New Year with open arms. For the urban crowd, the New Year celebrations include shelling out money in some of the five starred mega structured hotels to see some of the 'dhinchaak' Bollywood heroines, live in flesh! But the flip side of the coin is that this money gets translated into a pot-full of moolah for these 'dhinchaak' heroines. And these pot-full goes to the tunes of anywhere between a few lakhs till crores, depending upon the 'Saleability Quotient' of the star.

We bring to you an insight of the star-charges and the places where you can go star-hunting (with the damages, of course!)

Topping this year's 'pricey-list' is none other than Bipasha Basu who will be performing at the JW Marriott, Juhu. She is reportedly said to be charging a staggering Rs 90 lakhs! The costs of the tickets are kept at Rs 11,500 per person (including taxes and food). BTW, who needs booze when the 'intoxicating' Bips is around! The saddest part of the story is that 'children' below 21 years are not allowed! Though some portion of the market says that the figures have just been exaggerated (and that the actual figures rest at Rs 72 lakhs), whereas the other portion of the market says that the figure quoted is lesser than what she is charging (and that the actual figures rest at a staggering Rs 1.23 crores)! Rumours have it that come what may, Bipasha cannot be a Mallika Sherawat as the latter's pull is far greater than the former. Last year, Mallika pulled off a show-stopper of a show with a price tag attached of Rs 50 lakhs for a half an hour performance!

However, it's not just Bipasha who will be joining you in welcoming the New Year. The Drama Queen Rakhi Sawant alongwith her 'all-in-one' boyfriend, Abhishek Awasthi, and DJ Whosane will also be performing on New Year"s Eve. You can find all of them performing at Tulip Star Hotel, Juhu. The charges here are Rs 7000 for a couple entry with unlimited food and drinks. But again, 'children' below 18 years are not allowed! Rakhi is reported to have charged the organizers a whopping Rs 51 lakhs for her performance! Rumors are also rife that Rakhi will make the most of this 'platform' to project her angst against the Star TV for their allegedly rigged voting system in 'Nach Baliye', where she and her boyfriend Abhishek lost to Saajida Sheikh and Aamir Ali.

Not far behind are Koena Mitra and Tanushree Dutta, who will be joined along with the songster Mika in Sahara Star, Mumbai. The rates of the tickets here are priced at Rs 20,000 for a couple and Rs 11,500 for singles. Koena is supposedly charging the organizers Rs 27 lakhs for her 16 minute performance whereas Tanushree Dutta has been signed for Rs 15 lakhs for her 24 minutes performance.

The next in row are an array of celebrities who will be India-trotting as a part of their New Year performance. They are none other than Amrita Arora (performing in Bangalore), Malaika Arora (performing in Delhi), Neha Dhupia (performing in Ahmedabad), Mahima Choudhary (performing in Kolkatta), and southern sensation Sada (performing in Chennai) with Udita Goswami (performing in Pune) and Rimi Sen (performing in Mumbai).

One of the event organizers (strictly on the condition of anonymity) said, "The charges of these stars are directly proportional to their popularity. Girls like Malaika Arora command easily upto Rs 25-30 lakhs which is almost the same like the southern bombshell Sada. Whereas Amrita Arora charges Rs 12 lakhs, Neha Dhupia charges anywhere between Rs 15-20 lakhs, Mahima Choudhary charges Rs 5 lakhs, Udita Goswami who used to charge Rs 15 lakhs for any performance now has reduced to Rs 5-8 lakhs.

With so much happening this New Year"s Eve, who wouldn't wanna be a 'sell-ebrity'!