Allu Arjun’s reported ₹300- crore paycheck for Pushpa 2: The Rise is surprisingly not the highest-ever for a single film in India.Pushpa 2: The Rise is breaking box office records left, right and centre. The Sukumar film has already grossed ₹1000 crore worldwide, becoming the fastest Indian film to reach the milestone. This has meant the stardom of the lead star, Allu Arjun, has also soared, as has his bank balance. According to reports, the actor may earn ₹300 crore from the film, including fees and profit share. And yet, that does not make him India’s highest-paid actor, which is quite mind-boggling.
The Hollywood Reporter India recently unveiled the list of India’s highest-paid actors currently, and while Pushpa 2’s success has pushed Allu Arjun to the top tier, he still isn’t numero uno. That spot belongs to a superstar who is currently revelling in a magnificent second innings – Shah Rukh Khan.
According to The Hollywood Reporter India, Shah Rukh Khan’s profit share for Pathaan was 55%, which netted him a more-than-handsome profit share of over ₹350 crore. This makes him the highest-paid actor in the country. Shah Rukh may have earned even more for Jawan, his other big hit of 2023. However, given that he was the film’s producer there, he forwent his fees there, and hence, all his earnings were as the producer. Interestingly, after this manic year, Shah Rukh went all of 2024 without a single release.
Other highest-paid actors of India
The article also detailed how other top Indian stars earn, noting that Salman Khan takes a share from his films’ satellite and digital rights, earning something to the tune of ₹200 crore, while Aamir Khan takes 60% of the profit. Hrithik Roshan is the only other Bollywood star who earns over ₹100 crore per film, while Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, and Ranbir Kapoor follow with fees ranging from ₹70-80 crore. Down south, Rajinikanth, Vijay, Prabhas, and Ram Charan reportedly earn over ₹100 crore per film. Rajinikanth and Vijay’s recent paychecks were reported to be over ₹200 crore.
