Bollywood: Who’s getting paid how much? And why...

The news of Varun Dhawan clinching a whopping Rs 32-cr deal for his dance flick to be directed by Remo D’souza, which is now likely to roll in January 2019, has B-Town’s leading men nearly jumping out of their skin.

A hero, who is getting paid one third of the price currently, asked someone how was it even possible that a young gun like Varun could actually pull off such a colossal remuneration? Clearly, a wild dream for many of his contemporaries! That having been said, we dug around a bit and found out juicy details about how much Bollywood’s A-list actors charge...

Interestingly, we learnt that VD’s reported Rs 32 cr is a one-off thing. The hunk is allegedly getting paid Rs 8 crore for Sui Dhaaga and also a similar fee for two films that he is doing for his mentor, Karan Johar.

Speaking of which, stars don’t have a fixed rate card. The monies are arbitrarily decided; depending on the project, producer and their own keenness towards both these ‘P’s. Quite obviously, there is no method to Bollywood’s mayhem or the price structure.

Akshay Kumar has always topped the pay ecosystem as far as leading men in Bollywood go. The actor is said to have returned the offer to get paid Rs 54 cr for Mogul, the biopic on Gulshan Kumar. It is rumoured that he is fanatical about taking his remuneration (that totals up to his lucky number 9) and his current market price is in the range of Rs 54 cr plus Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), according to reliable sources. No surprises there!

Ajay Devgn is also a steady player with a consistent track record. The actor, who has signed three films outside his banner in recent times, gets to keep the satellite rights of his films as his remuneration plus a share in the IPR because his last release Raid brought in the numbers, too.

The Khans — Salman and Aamir — have been placed on the same pedestal by those deciding their price.

A reputed filmmaker, who regularly works with both, apparently told them, “To me, both of you are equals.” And the price for these equals is reportedly Rs 50 cr plus a 50 per cent share in the IPR.

Shah Rukh Khan is ‘priceless’ because he has been producing his own movies. Be it Raees, Jab Harry Met Sejal or for that matter, the upcoming Zero, SRK has been doing the dual role of producer and actor. So, the lines and the monies overlap.

Hrithik Roshan runs a race of his own. The light-eyed superstar, who has reportedly been paid Rs 45 cr for his biopic on Anand Kumar, will get the same price for his next action project.

Today’s most popular young actor, Ranveer Singh, reportedly signed his next two projects — Simmbaa and ’83, the Kapil Dev biopic — for Rs 15 cr each, much before the release of Padmaavat. Had he taken up these projects post the Rs 286 cr (domestic box-office figures), Ranveer’s price would have been at least double. And Varun would probably have just a Rs 2 cr advantage over him.

Ranbir Kapoor, the other young popular actor who once got over Rs 30 cr (he got paid this sum for Roy and Tamasha), revised his remuneration module after the no-show of Besharam and Bombay Velvet.

Today, RK Jr is said take his remuneration in two components — an envious fee plus a solid stake in the IPR (Intellectual Property Rights).

Shahid Kapoor, who also got a career boost with Padmaavat, is said to have been paid Rs 11 cr for his next, Batti Gul Meter Chalu.

John Abraham is reportedly earning Rs 12 cr for Parmanu: The Story Of Pokhran, and is said to have negotiated for something similar for one of his next projects.