Is Vijay The Highest Paid Actor In India?

And
possibly
in
all
of
Asia,
going
by
his
reported
fee
of
Rs
275
crore
for

Thalapathy
69,
his
coming
movie.

Between
2000
and
2003,
when
an
up
and
coming
actor
named
Joseph
Vijay
first
became
the
brand
ambassador
for
Coca-Cola
in
Tamil
Nadu,
for
the
‘Coke

Kudi
da‘
(roughly
meaning
‘drink
Coke’)
campaign,
he
earned
in
lakhs
of
rupees
for
each
movie.

By
2009,
when
Coca-Cola
wanted
Vijay
again,
he
was
earning
about
Rs
8
crore
(Rs
80
million)
a
movie.

This
time,
naturally,
Coke
had
to
shell
out
much
more
for
him.

Fifteen
years
on,
in
2024,
Vijay
is
a
bonafide
superstar.

More
specifically,
he
is
the
highest
paid
actor
in
India
and
possibly
in
all
of
Asia,
going
by
his
reported
fee
of
Rs
275
crore
(Rs
2.75
billion)
for

Thalapathy
69,
his
upcoming
movie.

And
he
is
popularly
known
as
Thalapathy,
meaning
commander,
or
leader
—
a
term
of
respect
and
affection
in
the
south
of
the
country.

Intriguingly,
while
still
at
the
top
of
his
game,
Vijay
has
announced
that
he
will
retire
as
actor
after

Thalapathy
69.

After
that,
the
50
year
old
will
focus
on
a
career
in
politics,
which
he
has
embarked
on
by
launching
his
party,
Thamizhaga
Vettri
Kazhagam
(TVK).

That
makes
it
a
good
time
to
examine
the
rise
of
Vijay,
why
his
remuneration
increased
33-fold
in
15
years,
and
what
makes
him
worth
all
the
money
he
make.

Some
of
the
answers,
say
industry
experts,
lie
in
Vijay’s
following
among
the
masses
in
all
four
South
Indian
states,
especially
in
Tamil
Nadu
and
Kerala.

Despite
receiving
bad
reviews
from
critics
and
even
his
own
fans,
his
latest
movie,

The
Greatest
of
All
Time
(GOAT),
collected
Rs
413
crore
(Rs
4.13
billion)
in
13
days
since
it
was
released
on
September
5.

If
box
office
is
taken
to
be
the
benchmark,
few
would
come
close
to
Vijay,
especially
in
recent
years.

Each
of
his
eight
movies
since
2017
has
collected
more
than
Rs
200
crore
(Rs
2
billion).
This
includes

Leo
(Rs
605
crore/Rs
6.05
billion),

Varisu
(Rs
300
crore/Rs
3
billion),

Beast
(Rs
216.58
crore/Rs
2.17
billion),

Master
(Rs
223
crore/Rs
2.23
billion),

Bigil
(Rs
295.85
crore/Rs
2.96
billion),

Sarkar
(Rs
252
crore/Rs
2.52
billion),
and

Mersal
(Rs
244.8
crore/Rs
2.45
billion).

“Such
numbers
indicate
the
mass
support
Vijay
enjoys,
making
him
a
very,
very
bankable
star.
It
is
crucial
for
any
actor
to
deliver
those
numbers
consistently,
especially
if
they
are
charging
a
significant
amount,”
film
trade
analyst
Taran
Adarsh
told

Business
Standard.

The
other
two
highest
paid
actors
in
the
top
three,
Shah
Rukh
Khan
and
Rajinikanth
—
who
are
widely
perceived
as
India’s
biggest
stars
—
have
not
had
an
unblemished
run.

Out
of
Khan’s
last
eight
movies,
five
were
damp
at
the
box
office:

Jab
Harry
Met
Sejal
(Rs
64.33
crore/Rs
643.3
million),

Dear
Zindagi
(Rs
68.16
crore/Rs
681.6
million),

Fan
(Rs
84.1
crore/Rs
841
million),

Zero
(Rs
90.28
crore/Rs
902.8
million),
and

Raees
(Rs
137.51
crore/Rs
1.38
billion).
This
is
based
on
industry
reports.

Khan,
however,
came
back
with
a
bang
in
2024
with

Pathaan
(Rs
543
crore/Rs
5.43
billion)
and

Jawan
(Rs
643
crore/Rs
6.43
billion),
although

Dunki
(Rs
212
crore/Rs
2.12
billion)
fell
short
of
the
other
two.

Rajinikanth,
who
played
an
extended
cameo
in
his
last
outing,

Lal
Salaam,
saw
one
of
the
biggest
flops
of
his
career,
with
the
movie
collecting
only
Rs
17
crore
(Rs
170
million).

Among
his
last
eight
movies,

Annaatthe
collected
Rs
160
crore
(Rs
1.6
billion),

Darbar
brought
in
Rs
250
crore
(Rs
2.5
billion)
and

Kaala
Rs
155
crore
(Rs
1.55
billion),
not
up
to
his
usual
high
standards.

Vijay’s
sustained
success,
say
experts,
may
have
a
lot
to
do
with
his
larger-than-life
persona.
Some
of
his
recent
movies
did
not
earn
much
praise
for
their
storylines.

“As
far
as
recent
Vijay
movies
are
concerned,
they
have
mostly
opened
to
mixed
or
negative
reviews…
Due
to
the
hype
created
by
the
cast,
trailer,
and
director,
the
movies
get
a
considerable
opening.
For
all
his
movies,
opening
day
numbers
account
for
30
per
cent
of
their
lifetime
collection,”
said
trade
analyst
Manobala
Vijayabalan.

“If
a
movie
opens
with
Rs
75
crore
(Rs
750
million)
on
the
first
day
and
ends
up
with
Rs
200
crore
(Rs
2
billion),
it
is
purely
because
of
negative
word
of
mouth.”

Vijayabalan
backs
his
argument
with

GOAT‘s
numbers:
“As
far
as

GOAT
is
concerned,
the
producers
announced
a
first-day
collection
of
Rs
126
crore
(Rs
1.26
billion)
gross.
After
four
days,
they
announced
Rs
288
crore
(Rs
2.88
billion),
despite
having
a
festival
weekend.
The
movie
managed
to
earn
only
twice
the
opening
day
figure
in
the
next
three
days
of
its
run.”

He
pointed
out
that
all
the
Rs
1,000
crore
(Rs
10
billion)
movies
like

Salaar,
KGF
Chapter
2,
Kalki
2898
AD
and

Baahubali
2
attracted
more
viewers
after
the
initial
collections.

“If
we
subtract
Rs
288
crore
(Rs
2.88
billion)
from
the
lifetime
collection,
the
remaining
figure
will
expose
the
film’s
poor
run,”
Vijayabalan
added.

Vijay
is
not
seen
much
in
endorsements
in
recent
times.
After
2011,
when
his
stature
as
a
star
rose
sharply,
he
started
staying
away
from
advertisements,
much
like
his
idol
Rajinikanth.

Other
than
Coca-Cola,
the
brands
Vijay
has
endorsed
include
Sunfeast
(2005)
and
Tata
Docomo
(2011).

In
2008,
he
also
became
the
brand
ambassador
for
the
Chennai
Super
Kings,
the
Indian
Premier
League
franchise.

In
2014,
Vijay’s
movie

Kaththi
became
a
super
hit.
But
the
actor
faced
criticism
and
online
trolling.

Vijay’s
character
in
the
movie,
Jeevanandham,
was
an
activist
fighting
against
cola
firms
for
depleting
groundwater.

The
real
life
Vijay
had
earlier
endorsed
the
‘Coke

Kudi
Da‘
campaign.

‘Yes,
I
did
an
ad
earlier.
I
don’t
endorse
the
brand
anymore.
When
I
heard
the
script
of

Kaththi,
it
made
sense
to
me,
and
I
voiced
it
through
Jeevanandham’s
character.
And
I
feel
happy
for
having
done
it
now,’
he
reportedly
said.
He
stated
that
he
was
an
‘ordinary
man
who
attempted
to
correct
the
mistake’.

Many
believe
Vijay
is
the
biggest
brand
ambassador
advertisers
have
failed
to
fully
utilise.

Interestingly,
when
Nitin
Datar,
president
of
the
Cinema
Owners
and
Exhibitors
Association
of
India,
was
asked
whether
Vijay
was
the
most
bankable
star,
he
cryptically
answered,
“Shah
Rukh
Khan
and
Salman
Khan.”

Some
would
add
Rajinikanth
to
the
list.

But
the
box
office
tells
a
different
story,
one
in
which
Vijay
is
the
Thala
among
equals.