If life gives you lemons, make lemonade. That seems to be Bebo’s recent mantra. The actress has just signed on a whopping deal with a lemonade brand, giving archrival Katrina Kaif (who endorses a mango drink) a run for her money. We learnt that Bebo, who was the face of another popular cola company, lost no time after her current contract expired and grabbed another endorsement deal from a rival brand for apparently a whopping Rs 5 crore.

Queen of endorsements

Says a source, "Kareena now has 16 brands in her kitty including the latest one, easily making her the most sought-after face in the ad space amongst the actresses. 2011 was the year of big money for Kareena, thanks to her back-to-back hits."

Ever since she signed onto to Madhur Bhandarkar's 'Heroine', the actress's fat pay cheques have been grabbing headlines. She was apparently paid almost Rs 8 crore for the film, the highest for any actress in the Indian film space ever.

Clearly that has reflected on her choice of brands and the money she is charging for them as well. Adds the source, "Though Bebo has a lot of film commitments, she makes sure she gives enough time to her brands and hence charges as much."

Kareena was also spotted shooting for her very first commercial with the brand a few days ago at Brabourne studio in Mumbai. Adds the source, "Both Katrina and Asin who endorse soft drinks have had ads that have gained a lot of popularity. So Kareena and her team were insistent that the commercial must be catchy and entertaining." All Kareena had to say is — "I am not allowed to talk money!"

Rate card per endorsement (approx)

Katrina Kaif: Rs 4-4.5 crore Priyanka Chopra: Rs 3-3.5 crore

Deepika Padukone: Rs 2-3 crore

Madhuri Dixit: Rs 1-2 crore

Vidya Balan: Rs 1-1.5 crore

Anushka Sharma: Rs 80 lakh