Which Indian actor first to charge Rs 1 crore for movie? The answer might surprise you

Hyderabad: Most of the current star actors across the country are charging a whopping Rs 100 crores at the box office as remuneration.

There are a few actors who take home the remuneration and a share of the profit as well. But do you know which actor in India is the first one to have received Rs 1 crore as remuneration?

When most star heroes in Kollywood and Bollywood including Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth didn’t dare to quote high prices, a Tollywood star hero broke the ice. He is none other than our very own Megastar Chiranjeevi. Back in September 1992, his remuneration made headlines in a popular magazine with Chiranjeevi’s face on the front page.

What was the name of the film?

The Tollywood actor had reportedly demanded a hefty paycheck of almost Rs 1.25 crore for the Telugu film Aapadbandhavudu released in 1992. Directed by K Viswanath, the film became a huge blockbuster. Also starring Meenakshi Seshadri in the lead role, the movie marked the third time collaboration between the director and actor after hits like Shubhalekha and Swayamkrushi.

Megastar for a reason

At that time, in terms of remuneration, Megastar Chiranjeevi had surpassed Amitabh Bachchan who was just charging Rs 85-90 lakh per film. Kollywood Superstar Kamal Haasan also joined the Rs 1 crore club a few months later in 1994. Amitabh Bachchan returned to acting after a small break in 1995 and also started charging a crore per film.

How much does Megastar make now?

Chiranjeevi charged Rs 48 to Rs 50 crores as remuneration for Waltair Veerayya, released during Sankranti this year. But the irony is, actors like Ram Charan, Prabhas, Allu Arjun, Kamal Haasan, Akshay Kumar, and Jr NTR get paid a lot more than him.