Kitne pratishat Bhartiya… is a line that probably has cost Sony Entertainment dearly this year. If trade buzz is to be believed, Salman Khan, the resident host of Dus Ka Dum, has been signed on for the show’s third season for nearly twice the fee he was paid for Dus Ka Dum Season Two.

Sources indicate that he got approximately Rs 80 lakh an episode, for 25 episodes of the show last year. Less than 12 months later, the figure is expected to be between Rs 1.25 crore and Rs 1.5 crore.

Sources at Sony and Synergy Adlabs confirm the buzz. “Salman will definitely get more this year and he deserves it too. The channel at this juncture, needs his support. His show has brought Sony decent TRPs and viable star value. The ratings of most of their other shows are hardly impressive. So, getting him back is the need of the hour,” says a source from Synergy.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will play the Bond girl. She is a recognizable face not only in Hollywood, but also in Europe and after movies like ‘Pink Panther 2‘, ‘The Last Legion‘ and ‘Provoked‘, she has proved that she can hold her own in front of an international audience, and with an international star cast. The producers wanted an Indian actress for the role of the Bond girl, as James Bond comes to India on his next mission, but they also wanted a famous face. And which Indian is more famous than Ash, who was once called the most beautiful woman in the world by Julia Roberts herself.