Not Shah Rukh or Salman, this south star was first Indian to charge ₹1 crore per film, was called ‘bigger than Bachchan’
As Indian films grew in size and scale over the ’70s and ’80s, actors’ remunerations also increased. At the peak of his superstardom in the 80s, Amitabh Bachchan increased his per film fees from ₹10 lakh to over ₹50 lakh. For a while, this was the gold standard in Indian cinema, making him the highest-paid Indian actor by far. But his reign ended in the 90s, and it was finished by an unlikely candidate. The ‘usurper’ came from down south. It took a megastar to overthrow the superstar. (Also read: Ram Charan congratulates appa Chiranjeevi for achieving Guinness World Record; calls him an ‘inspiration’ to millions)
First Indian actor to charge ₹1 crore for a film
In 1992, Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi graced the cover of The Week magazine. The headline screamed: ‘Bigger than Bachchan’. To proclaim any actor as bigger than Amitabh Bachchan was next to blasphemy at that point, but The Week had good reason to do so. Chiranjeevi had just broken the ₹1-crore barrier by charging ₹1.25 crore for Aapadbandhavudu. At the time, Amitabh Bachchan had taken a hiatus from acting post-Khuda Gawah, which meant that Chiranjeevi was the highest-paid Indian actor. Other top stars, such as Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, and Sunny Deol, all charged between ₹60-80 lakh per film, say trade insiders.
How the ₹1-crore club grew
Kamal Haasan joined the club when he charged ₹1 crore per film in 1994, as did Rajinikanth. Upon his return to acting in 1996, Amitabh Bachchan became the first actor from Bollywood to charge ₹1 crore per film. The same year, Sridevi became the first female actor to command that figure for a single film. By the late ’90s, the power dynamics and economics of Indian cinema were changing. Hindi films leapt ahead in size and commerce; hence, the top Bollywood stars began charging way more. By the end of the millennium, the three top Bollywood actors – Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, and Aamir Khan – were charging ₹2-3 crore per film.
Chiranjeevi’s golden run
Yet, Chiranjeevi continued unhindered. He had already established himself as the biggest star in the Telugu industry in the 90s, with 14 consecutive hits in a single calendar year. In the 2000s, he continued with industry hits like Indra, earning him the moniker ‘Megastar’. In 2008, Chiranjeevi quit films for politics but returned triumphantly in 2017 with two hits – Khaidi No 150 and Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy. Since then, he has delivered other hits like GodFather and Waltair Veerayya. Even at 69, Chiranjeevi remains among the top stars in the Telugu industry, reportedly charging up to ₹40 crore per film today.
The actor is awaiting the release of his fantasy film Vishwambhara, which also stars Trisha, Meenakshi Chaudhary, and Kunal Kapoor. The Mallidi Vassishta-directed film is set to release on January 10, 2025, ahead of the Sankranthi weekend.
