Over the past decade, the viewership of South Indian cinema has witnessed a remarkable surge. True to their word, the South Indian film industry boasts a plethora of talented artists who never fail to dazzle the box office with their individual films.
Across all four South Indian languages, there are numerous remarkable star heroes who command hefty paychecks for each movie they star in. In this article, we will look at 7 of the highest-paid South Indian actors who take home massive pay cheques for their roles.
Rajnikanth
According to Telugu360, South Indian superstar Rajinikanth was paid approximately Rs 100 crore for his role in Annaatthe. However, for his upcoming film Jailer, as reported by Zee News, he has increased his fee and is set to earn almost Rs 150 crore.
He made headlines in 2007 when he earned a whopping Rs 26 crore (equivalent to Rs 55 crore in 2016) for his role in the film Sivaji. This made him the highest paid actor in Asia at the time, second only to Jackie Chan.
Allu Arjun
According to Siasat Daily, Allu Arjun, the Telugu star who is currently shooting for Pushpa: The Rule alongside co-star Rashmika Mandanna, has reportedly doubled his fees for the film’s sequel. He is now set to earn a whopping Rs 120 crore for his role in the movie.
Prabhas
Prabhas, the rising superstar of Telugu cinema, has managed to maintain his immense popularity despite his recent struggles at the box office. With a slew of big-budget movies like Project K, Salaar, and upcoming movie Adipurush, the actor is poised to add several more crores to his already massive net worth.
As per News18, Prabhas is charging a whopping Rs 150 crore for his role in filmmaker Om Raut’s upcoming mythological drama, which is being made on a budget of approximately Rs 500 crore.
Ram Charan
SS Rajamouli’s period action drama RRR proved to be a massive success, giving a major career boost to mega star Ram Charan. As reported by News18, the Telugu actor charged Rs 45 crore for his role as Alluri Sitarama Raju in the film.
However, for his upcoming project directed by Gowtam Tinnanuri, Charan is reportedly set to earn a staggering Rs 100 crore, as per TOI.
Jr NTR
Jr NTR, one of the most popular superstars in the South Indian film industry, has reportedly increased his fees following the tremendous success of SS Rajamouli’s RRR, in which he shared the screen with Ram Charan. According to Siasat Daily, the Telugu actor is expected to charge around Rs 60-80 crore for his future projects.
Vijay
Among South Indian celebrities, Vijay is the only actor who matches the lower end of Rajinikanth’s remuneration in terms of earnings. He was reportedly paid 30 crores for his role in the film Puli, which has significantly increased his current earnings of 25 crores.
Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan, a renowned name in the Indian film industry with a string of blockbuster hits over the years, made a grand comeback last year with the Tamil action thriller Vikram. The movie set the cash registers ringing and broke several box office records. According to a report by News18, Haasan has now shifted his focus to his upcoming project Indian 2, directed by S. Shankar, and has demanded a whopping remuneration of Rs 150 crore for the film.
