Rajinikanth’s Jailer is one of the biggest hits of the year. The Tamil action thriller has minted Rs 580 crore worldwide becoming one of the highest-grossing Tamil films ever. Upon the film’s success, the producer gifted Rajinikanth a BMW worth Rs 1.25 crore. This should not be surprising given both the film’s success and the producer’s own massive wealth, which makes him richer than all the top producers in India.
The richest film producer in India
Kalanithi Maran, the owner of Sun Pictures and Sun TV among other things, is the richest film producer in India. In 2022, Forbes estimates Maran’s total worth at over $2 billion, adjusting that estimate to $2.3 billion (Rs 19000 crore) a few months later. This makes him much richer than several other producers like Ronnie Screwvala, Sajid Nadiadwala, Aditya Chopra, and Karan Johar to name a few.
Kalanithi Maran’s salary as compared to Mukesh Ambani
What’s impressive is that Maran’s remuneration is the highest in India for any executive. As per Zee News, Kalanithi Maran and his wife Kaveri took home a salary of Rs 1500 crore in the ten years between 2012 and 2021. Financial Express reported Kalanithi’s salary at Rs 87.50 crore in 2021-22, the highest for all executives in India. In comparison, Mukesh Ambani reportedly took home a salary of Rs 15 crore per year till 2019 after which he decided to forego it during the pandemic.
Other super rich film producers in India
Ronnie Screwvala had held the title of India’s richest film producer for sometime before Maran upstaged him. The entrepreneur has a reported net worth of Rs 12800 crore. Aditya Chopra of Yash Raj Films comes in at number 3 with a reported net worth of around Rs 7500 crore. Arjan and Kishore Lulla of Eros are next with a joint net worth of around Rs 7400 crore. At number five is Karan Johar (Rs 1700 crore), followed by Gauri Khan (Rs 1600 crore), and Aamir Khan (Rs 1500 crore) at six and seven respectively. Other Indian film producers who reportedly have a net worth of over Rs 1000 crore are Sajid Nadiadwala, Bhushan Kumar and Ekta Kapoor.
