India's highest-paid lyricist charges Rs 20 lakh per song; and it's not Javed Akhtar, Manoj Muntashir, Irshad Kamil

Gone are the days when only actors and actresses charged bug bucks for their work on films. With the proliferation of money in Indian cinema, and the influx of money in film music business, musicians began to rake in the big bucks as well. It began with composers and spilled over to singers song. Today, even lyricists can charge in lakhs for each song.

India’s highest-paid lyricist

The highest-paid lyricist in India is Sampooran Singh Kalra, better known by his pseudonym Gulzar. The filmmaker-cum-lyricist is one of the most respected writers and creative persons in India, having made films and written songs and poems for close to six decades now. Even today, at the age of 88, Gulzar charges up to Rs 20 lakh per song as a lyricist, the highest in India.

Top 10 highest-paid lyricists in India

While Gulzar is easily the highest-paid lyricist in India, there are several names who come close to him in terms of earnings per song. Veteran writer Javed Akhtar is a close second, charging around Rs 15 lakh per song today. CBFC Chairperson and writer Prasoon Joshi comes next, charging Rs 10 lakh per song, the same amount that 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, as he earns 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.

Gulzar’s career as director and lyricist

Gulzar began his career in films in 1963, when he wrote the lyrics for Bimal Roy’s Bandini. He continued to write songs and soon ventured into direction with the 1971 release Mere Apne, which starred Meena Kumari. Over the 70s and 80s, Gulzar directed many critically-acclaimed films such as Parichay, Aandhi, Mausam, Angoor, and Ijaazat. Many of these were commercial hits as well. In the 90s, while his films failed to perform at the box office, they were still praised for his craft. Films like Maachis and Hu Tu Tu were critically acclaimed. While he quit direction at the turn of the century, Gulzar continues to write songs, often collaborating with his favourite composers like AR Rahman and Vishal Bharadwaj.