This is the tale of a bus conductor Shivaji Rao Gaekwad who turned into the most successful film actor of all time, Rajinikanth, fondly called as Thalaiva. The actor who will soon turn 73 has delivered one of the biggest super hits of his career, in the recently released Jailer. The film collected Rs 600 crore-plus in worldwide box office collection. Rajin himself took home a whopping Rs 100 crore pay cheque, excluding the profit share and a BMW X7 gifted to him by Sun Group Founder-Chairman Kalanithi Maran
Made on an estimated budget of Rs 150 crore, Jailer raked in at least Rs 150 crore in profit for producer Sun Pictures. Industry insiders peg the total revenue it would have fetched at Rs 370-390 crore
Source: Industry estimates
One of India’s most bankable stars, he is still one of the highest-paid leading men in all of Asia, especially in his age bracket. “His films are watched by everybody from babies to 90-year-olds. That’s why his collections are high and that’s why his own salary has also risen,” says Kabali producer Kalaipuli S. Thanu
Jailer is a much-needed super hit for the star, coming after a decade of lacklustre films such as Kuselan, Lingaa, Kochadaiiyaan, and 2021’s Annaatthe. Though, his films have been a mixed bag of success and flops on the box office
Rajini’s salary as a share of the film’s production cost has risen steadily. His fee as a proportion of production cost has risen to 50 per cent recently
– His on-screen charisma is built on unique styles and punchlines, man-on-thestreet looks – His films pull crowds across age groups, including children. – He has a strong overseas market in the US, Russia, Malaysia and Singapore where there is a sizeable Tamil diaspora. – His brand is built on scarcity, where he doesn’t appear in commercials or TV interviews
It hasn’t always been smooth sailing, especially for distributors. Baba (2002), produced and co-written by the superstar himself, bombed at the box office and the actor was forced to reimburse distributors. Similarly, Kuselan, Lingaa, Kochadaiiyaan and Darbar have proved to be losses for distributors with Kabali earning them only meagre returns. Lingaa made on an estimated budget of Rs 100 crore collected a reported Rs 150 crore in worldwide gross. But the film’s distributors faced losses and threatened protests
Over the years, younger actors across Indian film industries have surpassed Rajini’s salary as eye-watering star fees are the order of the day. The competition in Tamil Nadu is between Rajini, Vijay and Ajith. The three fluctuate within a difference of Rs 5-10 crore in terms of the sum distributors are willing to pay for their films. Much younger Telugu stars such as Prabhas and Allu Arjun have also seen their fees skyrocket in the wake of Telugu films’ pan-India box office successes recently. Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar have been taking home hefty payments for several years now
Many of Rajini’s contemporaries dominate across Indian languages. But he is peerless in terms of the Rs 110-crore star fee he received for Jailer. His contemporaries such as Amitabh Bachchan, Mammooty, Mohanlal and Chiranjeevi are paid far lesser
Source: Industry estimates
If Baashha was an instant cult classic locally, Muthu opened up a market for the actor in Japan. One aspect of his bankability is the strong overseas business of his films. Jailer, for instance, collected Rs 196 crore gross in overseas markets. Recently, a Japanese couple travelled to India to watch Jailer, while a video clip of Japan’s Ambassador to India, Hiroshi Suzuki, dancing to the film’s song went viral. Muthu and Enthiran are now both case studies at IIM Ahmedabad and ISB
Read BT Magazine's latest issue
Written by: Vidya S Produced by: Bhoomika Designed by: Mohsin Shaikh
Read BT Immersive