Kollywood is in the pink of health if the recent surge in its dazzling stars' remuneration is any indication. While the rest of Southern industries are battling financial problems, it has been quite a fairytale season for the Tamil industry. In fact, top Telugu and Malayalam actors face the music from desperate ...producers to cut their fees, but not in Tamil.
Leading the pack is Suriya, who has emerged as the undisputed No 1 star, say industry insiders, who closely follow the financial dealings in Kollywood. Surprisingly, Vijay, who had a horrid box-office run for the last few years, comes a close second to Suriya. At third spot is Ajith, who is ready to up his ante with two most-awaited projects in Mankatha and Billa 2. Among actresses, Asin (another surprise, we say) is said to be the highest paid, closely followed by Ileana, Trisha and Genelia D'Souza.
SURIYA GETS RS 15-20 CRORE
Insiders say Suriya, who had monster hits like Singham to his credit, is pocketing about Rs 15- 20 crore a film. The actor is currently involved with two of the biggest projects in Kollywood – Murugadoss's 7 aam Arivu and K V Anand's Maatran.
Despite having a string of flops under his belt till Kavalan, Vijay kept hiking his fees, insiders say. Sources say the actor's run-ins with the previous DMK government had little or no effect on Vijay's box-office prowess. The actor is said to be getting at least Rs 14-16 crore. Look at his current projects: Shankar's Nanban and Jeyam Raja's Velayudham. Kollywood is abuzz with reports that he is all set to work with top directors like Gautham Vasudev Menon, Maniratnam and Murugadoss.
While Ajith reportedly pockets Rs 12 crore, Vikram is said to be raking in Rs 10 crore.
Competitors Silambrasan and Dhanush are said to be taking anywhere between Rs 4-7 crore. Karthi, the fast-rising star, is said to be receiving over Rs 5 crore.
ASIN TOPS THE LIST
Insiders say Asin, who left Kollywood for Bollywood for sometime, is back in demand. The Kerala-born actress tops the list with a remuneration of nearly Rs 2 crore, closely followed by Ileana, who charges around Rs 1.8 crore. The 1-crore mark has also been crossed by Trisha and Genelia D'Souza, Tamannaah and Nayanthara. When it comes to directors, Shankar, Gautham Menon and Maniratnam are the highest-paid filmmakers.
