The actor charged a fee of Rs 4.35 crore per minute for a cameo; Most in the history of Indian cinema and it is not Shahrukh Khan or Prabhas

In 2019, Ajay Devgan 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. It worked up to Rs 4.35 crore per minute, which was the highest rate recorded for an Indian actor.

At a time when top stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Prabhas and Vijay, this small role of Ajay set a new benchmark. To keep it in perspective, if Shah Rukh Khan had to charge the same rate for the jawan, where he appeared for about 70 minutes, it would have more than Rs 300 crore, which would have been more than the total budget of the film.

Here is how Ajay’s RRR cameo changed the payment of the industry

After the success of Bahubali 2, SS Rajamouli announced the RRR in 2017. JR NTR and Ram Charan were prominent stars, later Alia Bhatt and Shriya Saran attended. In early 2019, Ajay Devgan came on board for a powerful cameo. Although his screen time was only eight minutes, he charged Rs 35 crore for appearance.

For Rs 4.35 crore per minute, all other actors of India were dropped as per India’s time. For comparison, stars like Rajinikanth (jailer), Salman Khan (Tiger 3), Prabhas (Kalki 2898 AD), and Allu Arjun (Pushpa 2) will have to charge more than Rs 250 crore to match the rate, which none of them have allegedly incurred. This small but high-fee role helped Ajay stand as India’s highest paid actor per minute.

Ajay Devgan’s developed fee structure post 2019

Ajay Devgan has continued to see the success of the box office after the epidemic, with hits like Drisham 2, RAID 2 and Singham again. Their salary varies on the basis of project. He allegedly charged Rs 20 crore for small films like raids 2 and Auran Meen Kahan Dum Than, while commanding Rs 40 crore or more or more for big performances like Singham.

In 2021, he also became the highest paid OTT actor in India, signing for Rudra: The Edge on 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. It became a standard, after the suit with top actors like Khan, Akshay Kumar, Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit. But over time, Rs 1 crore also became a standard for supporting roles.