MOOLAH MATTERS: How much do our heroes earn?

Star heroes are the biggest draw for a film. The box-office numbers are hugely dependent on them and it’s no wonder they charge astronomical amounts to green-light a film. Though a section of producers and distributors, last year, demanded that they should decrease their fee after the debacle of big ticket flicks starring them, the fact remains that ‘certain producers’ don’t dither to pay big bucks to rope in these stars for their ventures.

And as the market is expanding day by day, even our heroes are raising the numbers on the paycheck as and when their film hits the bull’s-eye. Hans Talkies gets an approximate figure of what our stars make for a film. Interestingly, the remuneration of actresses that we recently published seems like a pittance in front of what the heroes earn.

Pawan Kalyan: 15 cr Leading the pack when it comes to remuneration is Pawan Kalyan aka power star. The actor, who charged Rs 12 crore as his salary for ‘Cameraman Gangatho Rambabu’, is now charging Rs 15 crore. For his upcoming actioner ‘Gabbar Singh 2’ the actor, who commands a following which can be compared to none, will be sharing profits of the film as it is being produced by his good friend Sharrath Marar.

Mahesh Babu: 15 cr Like his friend Pawan Kalyan, Superstar Mahesh Babu is also demanding Rs 15 crore per film. According to a source, the actor was prepared to hike his remuneration had ‘Aagadu’ triumphed at the box-office. But that didn’t happen as the film turned out to be a damp squib. In fact for his next, as a part of keeping a tab on the budget and in his producers’ interest, he has cut down his fee to an amount lesser than what he signed for initially.

Ravi Teja: 8 cr The ever bankable Ravi Teja is charging Rs 8 crore per movie. And according to a source, his salary varies depending upon the team he works with. If he joins forces with Puri Jagannadh, he will charge Rs 6-7 crore as Puri is the one who shaped his career. He has a similar set of rules for producers Danayya and BVSN Prasad.

NTR: 13 cr Once in the news for being the highest paid T-town actor – Rs 18 crore, NTR, who commands a great following among masses, is now charging Rs 13 crore per film. For ‘Temper’, his pay packet was Rs 12 crore and for his next outing with BVSN Prasad, the actor, we hear, will be getting somewhere around Rs 13-14 crore.

Prabhas: 10 cr The lanky actor, who has a good fan base among youth and family audiences, is charging Rs 10 crore per film. For ‘Baahubali’, he will be sharing the profits too as he has devoted more than two years on it. He is likely to hike his fee as his stocks are set to go high once the magnum opus opens in screens.

Allu Arjun: 11 cr Allu Arjun is fast emerging as the star who is likely to give Pawan Kalyan and Mahesh Babu a run for their money in terms of remuneration. The actor, who is said to have taken Rs 8 crore for ‘Race Gurram’, apparently charged Rs 11 crore for ‘S/o Satyamurthy’, his recent release. And with ‘S/o Satyamurthy’ – despite a few distributors incurring losses – crossing the Rs 50 crore mark at the ticket windows like ‘Race Gurram’, it is likely that he will hike his paycheck. Moreover, unlike some of his colleagues, he has a wide market in Kerala too.

Ram Charan: 12-13 cr Ram Charan, who hit the headlines for being the highest paid debutant (Rs 1.5 crore) when he made his debut eight years ago with ‘Chirutha’, is said to be charging Rs 11- 12 crore as his fee per film. For his current venture with DVV Danayya, the actor’s reported remuneration is in between Rs 12- 13 crore.