Roughly three decades ago, a Bollywood actor became the first to breach the Rs 1-crore mark in terms of remuneration for a film. Since then, the fees charged by Indian superstars have increased exponentially, with the top stars commanding over Rs 100 crore per film. Among them is one name that negotiated a fee of Rs 4.50 crore per minute, solely for a cameo appearance.
When considering outright earnings from a film, actors like Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Prabhas, Rajinikanth, Salman Khan, and Thalapathy Vijay dominate the scene. They have each earned in excess of Rs 100 crore per film, with some even surpassing Rs 200 crore after factoring in profits from their biggest hits. Despite this, their per-minute earnings typically range from Rs 2-3 crore. However, in 2021, Ajay Devgn outshone them all by reportedly charging Rs 35 crore for a brief role in SS Rajamouli’s RRR. Despite being on screen for only eight minutes, Ajay's per-minute fee exceeded Rs 4.5 crore for the film.
How much did the Bollywood actor charge?
In RRR, Ajay – alongside Shriya Saran – made cameo appearance in a flashback scene. He reportedly demanded the hefty fee considering his workload on the film and its massive scale (RRR had a budget of Rs 500 crore). However, his fees are not consistently this high. It's reported that the actor charges the same amount – Rs 35 crore – even for full appearances. However, when he leads a film, Ajay also secures a 50% share in profits. This results in his earnings surpassing Rs 100 crore for films like Tanhaji and Drishyam 2.
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