STAR VALUE: Celebrities like Richard Gere or Angelina Jolie have visited India. Serena Williams (bottom), however, did not show up

It’s no secret that tennis icon Serena Williams has stormed back to top form, with a victory over current world number one Maria Sharapova at the Australian Open this year. Williams was to play in Bangalore last fortnight, but pulled out at the last moment. Sunder Raju, the secretary of the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association, admits he was left a little red in the face by what happened. Just a few days earlier, Raju had revealed with elation that the eight-time Grand Slam winner was confirmed to arrive in Bangalore to play in a $1,75,000 tennis tournament in the garden city, which got underway on February 13.

On the day of her arrival, Raju sent a receiving party to Bangalore airport to greet the star. When it got there, however, the welcome party realised that Williams had not even boarded the plane. The official reason later cited for her absence was a freak bout of influenza. “Williams sent an e-mail late in the night, when it was time for her to board the flight,” says Raju. “We did not anticipate a cancellation message at this stage,” he admits.

Williams didn’t show up at the Dubai Duty Free Open either. So was the money on offer small beer for the once again rising tennis star? “It’s not just about money,” Raju protests. “Top players have their own perceptions about which tournaments will look good on their resumes. Appearance cost is only one of the issues,” he says.

Raju’s explanation may or may not wash. But the incident casts the spotlight on the rising number of celebrities from the West who are making a beeline for events being staged in India. Former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters played out his mean bass guitar riffs in Mumbai last week. And mathematician John Nash was a star attraction here thanks to the movie A Beautiful Mind adding mega dollar gloss to his game theory fame. The ministry of external affairs flew him down to inaugurate its new Nobel Laureate Lecture series recently.

That’s not all. Actress Scarlett Johansson — recently voted the sexiest woman on earth — and feminist icon Gloria Steinem were both in India this week; the former for a charity cause, the latter for a talk and literary meet.

Celeb snaring is becoming global, bigger and whackier. There have been quite a few visitors from the world of science and economics. Nobel Laureates Paul Crutzen (chemistry) and Bert Sakmann (medicine) were here recently for an India-EU summit, as were economists Muhammad Yunus and Joseph Stiglitz.

The surge of the more academic or high-brow celebrities to India started in the mid-1990s, with India getting on the world’s radar. Initially chambers of commerce hosted the famous as speakers when they came as part of a delegation or on a business trip. Then media organisations and others did so too.

Many of them charged a fat fee. Former US President Bill Clinton addressed the India Today Conclave in 2003. His fee then was $250,000, says a source associated with the conclaves. Clinton, however, couldn’t come at the last minute and addressed the conclave through a video conference. Clinton’s fee is now over $350,000. Senator Hillary Clinton, who addressed the India Today Conclave in 2005, did not charge a fee because she was a serving politician.

Most celebrities are registered with speaker or lecture agencies in the West. Benazir Bhutto is registered with the New York-based Harry Walker Agency, as are Anita Roddick, CEO, The Body Shop (who spoke at The Hindustan Times Summit 2005) and Kenyan Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai, who is scheduled to address the India Today Conclave in end-March. Francis Fukuyama, who will also address the Conclave, is registered with the New Jersey-based Leigh Bureau. Madeline Albright is registered with the Washington Speaker’s Bureau.

A Hindustan Times group official wouldn’t confirm or deny these payment figures, but said that a mix of strategies is used to get celebrity speakers. Paid speakers are kept to a minimum because they are expensive. In the case of other celebrities, professional and personal associations, in addition to the influence of the newspaper, are tapped to get them over.

Golf has had its share of stars, too. In the past two years, PGA stars such as Colin Montgomerie, Nick Faldo and Gary Player have come to India for sundry promotional events. “India has emerged as a huge market and sports awareness is growing in the country,” says Digraj Singh, director of the Delhi-based Tiger Sports Marketing (TSM), which is in talks with top golfers to bring them to India. Golfer Vijay Singh, who came to India the second time last year, was reportedly paid $300,000 by his hosts. Top golfers charge between $0.5 million to $1 million.

With the event management and hospitality industry in India being touted as now being on a par with international ones, icons are more open to touring India. “Sufficient security, the right food and good media are some prerequisites that sports celebrities look for. India can now match their expectations,” says Singh.

To be sure, stars did come to India in the past. Tennis ace Roger Federer has been a regular participant at the ATP Chennai Open for quite a few years now. Actor Richard Gere’s rallying for peace and against AIDS has seen him coming to India on several occasions in the past. And actress Angelina Jolie dropped by as the UN’s goodwill ambassador for fund raisers.

Sports journalist and music aficionado Kishore Bhimani recalls an occasion in 2003 when legendary rock band The Rolling Stones was touring India and played to packed houses in Mumbai and Bangalore. The band was scheduled to play in Calcutta. Over last minute developments, however, the band decided to give Calcutta a miss. “The only reason for The Stones not playing in Calcutta was that the city couldn’t cough up enough money,” says Bhimani, who happens to be a friend of Stone frontman Mick Jagger. “I personally approached several corporate sponsors in the hope that they would be able to foot the bill,” says Bhimani. “Not many obliged, and in the end, the monetary equations just didn’t work out.”

The monetary equations are now working out. V. Krishnaswamy, a journalist-turned-sports event manager, reveals how expensive inviting foreign stars can be. “For golfers such as Faldo or Montgomerie, organisers could be dishing out anything between $30,000-$40,000 for half a day’s schedule,” he says.

For every Williams who drops out, dozens of other stars aren’t complaining. Tennis player Martina Hingis was apparently paid $50,000 for her Calcutta trip, though Anirban Das Blah, vice president of Globosport, Mahesh Bhupathi’s sports management company, contests that. “$50,000 is a hugely inflated figure cooked up by the press. We do pay stars a small appearance fee to come and play in India, but it’s nowhere close to that mark. Besides, Martina is a great friend of Mahesh’s (Bhupathi), and had come here more upon his insistence than anything else,” he says.

V.G. Jairam, partner, Oranjuice Entertainment, which organised the recent India tour of blues legends Buddy Guy and Walter Trout, refuses to divulge the amount he pays celebrities to tour the country. “But they are paid as much as they would be for shows in the West, if not more,” he says. “India is quite off the mainstream circuit for them, so if they have to make a detour to perform in India they don’t mind charging a little extra.”

Krishnaswamy explains why stars seem to be more interested in India these days. “India is now a booming economy, and most people come over to build upon their appeal, which can be of use if and when they want to do business in India,” he says. “Golf players are very keen on designing their own golf course here. And that is primarily the reason they decide on coming to India, even though the country still doesn’t figure too much on the golfing circuit.”

The coming months will see rock stars Iron Maiden and stand-up comedian Russell Peters in India. Mumbai-based Percept D’Mark is said to have invited Boris Becker and Anna Kournikova to play in India. Who knows, but event managers may also find an antidote for Serena William’s future flu.