South cinema has overtaken Bollywood in terms of fees too! The male actors from the South industries such as Prabhas, Allu Arjun and Mahesh Babu, earn way more than Bollywood actors Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgn, reportedly.
Gone are the days when Indian cinema’s audience was differentiated on the basis of language. Though Bollywood has done remakes of numerous South films and vice versa, the line that divided the industries has nearly diminished now, with the release (and success) of Pan-India films. There has been a cross-collaboration among these South film industries and Bollywood has spoilt the audience for choice. Films such as RRR, and KGF: Chapter 2 have worked wonders with the Hindi belt audience. At the same time, actors such as Rashmika Mandanna, Pooja Hegde and Naga Chaitanya are up for their Bollywood debuts. Meanwhile, South films being released in the Hindi region have proved to be a bigger challenge for Bollywood films as they struggle to make business in front of films such as RRR and KGF: Chapter 2. But it is not just the films that are proving to be a challenge for Bollywood but also their actors. Several south actors are more paid than Bollywood actors, and you will be shocked to see the difference. Take a look at the actors from down South and Bollywood and their fees per film.
Prabhas: The lead actor of the pan-India franchise 'Baahubali', Prabhas needs no introduction. Since the success of 'Bahubali 2' at the box office, Prabhas is getting offers from many Bollywood and South films. If reports are to be believed, the actor has charged around Rs 150 crore for the film 'Adipurush' and over Rs 125 crore for the film 'Spirit'.
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Akshay Kumar: Bollywood's Khiladi, Akshay Kumar, was reportedly charging around Rs 100 crore for a film till 2020. However, in 2021 he decided to update his contract at around Rs 135 crore per film. He is listed as the highest-paid actor in Bollywood.
Vijay Thalapathy: One of the biggest names in the South film industry, Vijay Thalapathy was reportedly paid over Rs 80 crore for his last film. As per the latest reports, he is likely to be paid around Rs 120 crore for his film 'Beast'.
Allu Arjun: The 'Pushpa' superstar, who was known to charge between Rs 20 to 22 crores per film, charged around Rs 60 crores for Pushpa. As per the latest reports, he is likely to get more than 100 crores for his next film with Atlee.
Ram Charan: The megastar of Tollywood was known to charge around Rs 35 crore per film. With RRR, he increased his fees and was paid around Rs 43 crore. However, he has now joined the Rs 100 crore club and will be paid over Rs 100 crore for his next big project with Gautham Tinnanuri.
Mahesh Babu: Tollywood actor Mahesh Babu, who shares a huge fan following, previously used to charge Rs 55 crore per film, reportedly. However, as per the latest reports, he has increased his fees to over Rs 80 crore.
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Aamir Khan: Bollywood's Mr Perfectionist, Aamir Khan, is known for his devotion to the craft. The ‘Laal Singh Chadha’ actor charges more than Rs 75 to Rs 80 crore per film, reportedly.
Salman Khan: When it comes to making money, Salman Khan is a serial money maker. The Radhe actor takes a percentage of the film’s revenue with a fee of around Rs 70-75 crore per film. Well, that is a lot of money, knowing how much his films work at the box office.
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Shahrukh Khan: There was a time when it was unimaginable to surpass King Khan's commercial hold. However, in recent years, Shah Rukh Khan has changed his stance, and he now earns Rs 50 crore and 45 per cent of the profits made by the film, reportedly.
Ajay Devgn: The actor-turned-director is known for his action-packed films. In terms of his fees, Ajay Devgn charges around Rs 30 to Rs 50 crore for each project. He was last seen in his directorial film, Runway 34.