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India’s highest-paid lyricist charged Rs 25 lakh for one song in Dunki; it's not Gulzar, Manoj Muntashir, Varun Grover
This lyricist charged Rs 25 lakh for one song in Shah Rukh Khan's Dunki, the highest fees ever for writing a song in Indian cinema.
Updated : Jan 02, 2024, 07:53 PM IST
 "Shah Rukh Khan in Dunki, Javed Akhtar")
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Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki has been garnering praise from audiences across India. The Shah Rukh Khan-starrer deals with the subject of illegal immigration and the treatment of the subject matter has been praised by fans. Among the things that have earned appreciation by fans includes the soulful song Nikle The Hum Kabhi Ghar Se, sung by Sonu Nigam. The song, which documents the longing of immigrants, has created a new record in Bollywood. The man who wrote it was paid Rs 25 lakh for this one song, making him India’s highest paid lyricist.
India’s highest-paid lyricist is...
The song has been written by veteran screenwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar and he was reportedly paid Rs 25 lakh for it. Recently, while hosting a show called Main Koi Aisa Geet Gaun, Akhtar recounted the story of how he came on board for the song, “I usually don’t write just one track in the film. Raju Hirani sahab asked me to write lyrics of just one song. I declined but he insisted. I kept unreasonable terms in front of him (hoping that he’d be discouraged)’. Without batting an eyelid, he agreed to those terms,” the lyricist said. While Akhtar himself did not disclose the terms he set but a report in Film Information magazine has claimed that the demands included remuneration of Rs 25 lakh and a separate credit on screen.
The man whose record Javed Akhtar broke
Before this year, the highest-paid lyricist of India was Gulzar. At 88, the poet and filmmaker still charges to the tune of Rs 20 lakh for every song he writes. Like Javed Akhtar, Gulzar seldom writes only one song for a film, preferring to write all the songs in any project. Javed Akhtar, who reportedly charges Rs 15 lakh per song usually, had been on the second spot till 2023.
Top-10 highest-paid lyricists in India
CBFC Chairperson and writer Prasoon Joshi comes at the third spot after the two veterans, charging Rs 10 lakh per song. Composer Vishal Dadlani also earns for every song he writes. At number five is Irshad Kamil, who earns Rs 8-9 lakh for every song he writes. Amitabh Bhattacharya follows him with earnings of around Rs 7-8 lakh per song. Swanand Kirkire sits at number seven, earning Rs 5-6 lakh per song. Rounding off the top 10 are Jaideep Sahni, Sameer Anjaan, and Anwar Faiz, all of whom charge Rs 5 lakh per song.
