THIS Actor Charged Rs 4.35 Crore Per Minute for a Cameo; The Highest in Indian Cinema History and it’s not Shah Rukh Khan or Prabhas

In 2019, Ajay Devgn made history by charging Rs 35 crore for an 8-minute role in SS Rajamouli’s RRR, making it the most expensive cameo in Indian cinema. This worked out to Rs 4.35 crore per minute, the highest per-minute rate ever recorded for an Indian actor.

At a time when top stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Prabhas, and Vijay command massive fees, this short role by Ajay set a new benchmark. To put it in perspective, if Shah Rukh Khan were to charge the same rate for Jawan, where he appears for about 70 minutes, his fee would have been over Rs 300 crore, more than the film’s total budget.

Here’s how Ajay’s RRR cameo changed industry pay scales

SS Rajamouli announced RRR in 2017 after the success of Baahubali 2. Jr NTR and Ram Charan were the lead stars, with Alia Bhatt and Shriya Saran later joining. In early 2019, Ajay Devgn came on board for a powerful cameo. Though his screen time was only eight minutes, he charged Rs 35 crore for the appearance.

At Rs 4.35 crore per minute, his fee outpaced all other actors in India. For comparison, stars like Rajinikanth (Jailer), Salman Khan (Tiger 3), Prabhas (Kalki 2898 AD), and Allu Arjun (Pushpa 2) would need to charge over Rs 250 crore to match that rate, which none of them have reportedly done. This short but high-fee role helped Ajay stand out as India’s highest-paid actor by the per-minute metric.

Ajay Devgn’s evolving fee structure post 2019

Ajay Devgn has continued to see box office success after the pandemic, with hits like Drishyam 2, Raid 2, and Singham Again. His pay varies based on the project. He reportedly charged Rs 20 crore for smaller films such as Raid 2 and Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha, while commanding Rs 40 crore or more for big productions like Singham Again.

In 2021, he also became the highest-paid OTT actor in India, signing on for Rudra: The Edge of Darkness on Disney+ Hotstar for Rs 125 crore.

Chiranjeevi was the first Indian actor to charge Rs 1 crore for a film in the 1990s. That became the standard, with top actors like the Khans, Akshay Kumar, Sridevi, and Madhuri Dixit following suit. But with time, Rs 1 crore became standard even for supporting roles.

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