In 2023, Shah Rukh Khan held the title of India’s highest-paid actor, reportedly pocketing Rs 100 crore for both Pathaan and Jawan and an additional 60% of Jawan’s revenue, given his role as co-producer. This information comes from multiple sources and other publicly accessible data.

However, in 2024, a South Indian superstar has surpassed SRK as the highest-paid actor in India, marking a significant milestone in the entertainment industry. This actor, who isn’t Prabhas, Allu Arjun, Rajinikanth, or Kamal Haasan, has seen his last seven films gross over Rs 200 crore each at the box office. Wondering who it is? Scroll down to find out.

Thalapathy Vijay Sets a New Benchmark, Charging Rs 200 Crore for a Film

Thalapathy Vijay has become the first actor in India to charge a staggering Rs 200 crore for his role in The Greatest of All Time (also known as GOAT). Initial reports suggested that Vijay was set to receive Rs 150 crore for this sci-fi action film, but Archana Kalpathi, CEO of AGS Entertainment and producer of GOAT, confirmed in an interview with Galatta that Vijay’s fee was bumped up to Rs 200 crore.

Kalpathi attributed Vijay’s unprecedented paycheque to his remarkable box office appeal and increasing market value in recent years. His previous film Leo was a blockbuster, grossing Rs 623 crore worldwide, according to news sources.

Interestingly, Vijay’s remuneration for GOAT exceeds the entire production budget of his 2019 hit Bigil, which was also backed by AGS Entertainment and cost Rs 180 crore to make. For GOAT, the total production budget is Rs 340 crore, with Vijay’s salary constituting the largest expense. Archana Kalpathi further revealed that the film has already turned a profit through pre-release sales, recovering its costs via satellite, digital, music, and theatrical rights, as reported by DNA.

Star-Studded Cast and Innovative Use of Technology in GOAT

The Greatest of All Time (also known as Thalapathy 68) features a star-studded ensemble, including Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Ajmal Ameer, Mohan, Jayaram, Sneha, Laila, Meenakshi Chaudhary, Vaibhav, Yogi Babu, Premgi Amaren, and Yugendran. The film will also incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) for a special scene featuring the late Vijayakanth.

Directed by Venkat Prabhu, GOAT is set for a September 5, 2024, release. In the movie, Vijay will portray Gandhi, a former leader of the SATS (Special Anti-Terrorist Squad), who reunites with his team members to confront new challenges that have emerged from their past actions. Additionally, Vijay will play a double role, with his character’s son Jeevan assisting in the dangerous mission.

With GOAT, Vijay not only cements his position as a powerhouse in Indian cinema but also sets a new precedent for actor salaries in the industry.

Also Read: ‘GOAT’ Day 1 Box Office Prediction: Vijay’s Film Set for Massive Global Opening

Arbaaz Khan made a memorable appearance on Dus Ka Dum, where his brother, host Salman Khan, revealed an amusing childhood story involving the two of them. Salman recounted a time when he threw a pencil at Arbaaz in frustration during their younger days.

Dus Ka Dum, a popular reality show hosted by Salman Khan, often featured both contestants and Bollywood stars. In one such episode, the Tiger 3 actor candidly shared a funny incident from his childhood with his brother Arbaaz Khan. Salman revealed that he had thrown a pencil at Arbaaz after being annoyed by his teasing.

Recalling the incident on the Dus Ka Dum stage, Salman said, “By mistake, I was preparing for the wrong exam subject. The night before, I found out it was a geography exam, not history. And he (Arbaaz) was laughing so much, saying, ‘It’s a history paper, and you’re studying geography!’”

Salman further explained that he had warned Arbaaz not to irritate him, but Arbaaz kept teasing him. The Patna Shuklla actor jokingly pointed out how Salman would likely fail his exams and get scolded by their father for his mistakes. Out of frustration, Salman, known for his role in Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, flung a pencil at Arbaaz, which landed in his chest like a dart.

Salman continued with a humorous note, “He was sitting bare-chested. It’s a common habit in our family; we all stay bare-chested.” Arbaaz, known for his wit, responded, “Bare-chested is a polite way of putting it. You might as well say naked.” Arbaaz then added that he chased Salman around with the pencil still stuck in his chest. 

For those unfamiliar with the show, Dus Ka Dum was the Indian adaptation of the well-known international reality game show Power of 10. It aired on Sony TV and ran for three seasons, featuring many celebrities, including Shah Rukh Khan, Sridevi, Rani Mukerji, Shilpa Shetty, and Kareena Kapoor Khan.

Also Read: When Shah Rukh Khan Apologized to a Renowned Director for Requesting a Script Early in His Career, Only to Later Turn Down the Film

Arijit Singh Birthday Special: The name Arijit needs no introduction. This star singer entertains both Bollywood and Tollywood audiences with his voice. Anything emotional like happiness, or sadness, if Argith marks them, it should be a super hit. His songs have a good craze among the youth.

Arjith has given many super hit songs to the industry till now. This star singer, who inspired many people with his inspirational journey, shared many interesting things about his singing journey in a music podcast. It is said that he used to practice day and night to change his voice to match the voice of top Bollywood heroes. Most importantly, Bollywood Badshah Shah Rukh said that he used to practice until his voice was worn out to match his voice.

“It’s never about the voice, it’s just about the voice. I worked really hard to make changes in my voice because my voice wasn’t a match for Shah Rukh Khan. So I practiced until my voice was worn out. The next morning I was set.” Arjit said.

When it comes to Arjit’s career, Arjit was born in 1987 in Jiyaganj, Murshidabad district of Bengal. Seeing his passion for singing, Arjit’s parents trained him in music. In 2005, he participated in a Bollywood singing reality show. But he could not go to the end of this show. But he worked hard without giving up. The music video of ‘Tose Naina’ released in 2010 got a good response. With this, he was successful and entered the industry.

In 2011, he became an overnight star after singing a mesmerizing song in ‘Murder 2’. He became one of the top singers in no time. Arjith has sung more than 655 songs in Telugu and Hindi so far. He also sang songs in Marathi, Bengali, Marathi, Kannada, Assamese and Gujarati. Recently, he once again impressed the Tollywood audience with the song Anuvanu in the movie ‘Om Bhim Bush’.

South superstar Mohanlal recently danced fiercely to the song ‘Zinda Banda’ from Shahrukh Khan’s film ‘Jawaan’ during a film awards event in Kochi, which is in the news everywhere at the moment. In this video, you can see how Mohanlal is impressing everyone with his amazing dance steps. This is the reason why this dance video of Mohanlal is everywhere on social media. Fans are fans, even Shahrukh Khan himself is shocked after seeing Mohanlal dance on this song. Now recently, by sharing a post on Twitter, he has also given his reaction on this dance video of Mohanlal.

Shahrukh was impressed by Mohanlal’s dance

While sharing this dance video of Mohanlal with the fans, Shahrukh praised Mohanlal and called him ‘OG Zinda Banda’. He has written that- ‘Thank you sir, for making this song even more special for me. I wish I had done it half as well as you. Love you sir, waiting for your dinner to be served at home, you are really an OG guy. Now this post of Shahrukh is rapidly going viral on social media.

Mohanlal also reacted to Shahrukh’s post

Mohanlal has also replied to this tweet of Shahrukh Khan. While sharing the post, he wrote- ‘Dear Shahrukh Khan, no one can do it like you. You are and always will be the OG Zinda Banda in your classic, unique style. Thank you for your loving words. Next to this he has written, Just dinner? Why not dance to ‘Zinda Banda’ during breakfast together?

About the movie Jawan

Let us tell you that Shahrukh Khan’s film Jawan was released on September 7 last year. The film also stars Nayanthara, Deepika Padukone, Vijay Sethupathi, Lahar Khan, Girija Oak, Priyamani, Sanya Malhotra, Riddhi Dogra and Sanjeeta Bhattacharya. The film was given a lot of love by the audience. This film broke many records by earning Rs 1160 crore at the box office. The film was Atlee’s first Bollywood directorial venture.