Rajinikanth to Suriya: Highest paid actors of Tamil cinema

One of the biggest superstars of the country, Rajinikanth made his acting debut in K Balachander’s ‘Apoorva Raagangal’ in 1975. Rajini, who started off playing a menacing villain in films, soon started appearing as an independent hero. His ‘Mullum Malarum’, directed by J Mahendran changed the game for Rajinikanth and Tamil cinema. After churning out back-to-back blockbuster films, Rajini cajoled the masses and won over legions of fans. Rajinikanth became a huge star after the monstrous success of ‘Baasha’. Last seen in the gangster drama ‘Kabali’, Rajinikanth is all set for the release of ‘Kaala’. The actor is reported to be earning Rs 50-60 crore for film

Starting off as a child artist, Kamal Haasan is certainly one of the greatest actors in Indian cinema. In a career spanning over six decades, Haasan has everything to his credit. Reportedly, Kamal Haasan became the first Indian actor to earn Rs 1 crore for a single film in 1994. The ‘Vishwaroopam’ star is a three-time National Award winner and has won several international recognitions. Apart from acting, Kamal is a scriptwriter, producer, singer, lyricist and a dancer. He’s also one of the very few actors who has had a successful career outside Tamil film industry. Kamal Haasan is reported to be earning close to Rs 30-40 crore per project and gets a share if he’s involved in production or writing

Among the younger lot, Vijay is the most bankable star we have today and his recent films like ‘Mersal’ and ‘Theri’ are a glowing example. Interestingly, Vijay is only next to Rajinikanth when it comes to a large family audience base. The actor got his first breakthrough in Vikraman’s ‘Poove Unakkaga’. Many of his films have created havoc at the box office. 2007 was an important year for Vijay that saw the release of Pokkiri on ‘Pongal’. In 2012, Vijay’s ‘Thuppakki’ catapulted him to superstardom. He has been consistently delivering hits since then. Last year, Vijay reportedly earned a remuneration of Rs 29 crore. Popularly known as ‘Thalapathy’, Vijay will be next seen in AR Murugadoss’ film.

Ajith Kumar is one actor whose fan base keeps increasing with every passing day. He started off his career by acting in supporting roles in films. However, Ajith went on to act in both critically and commercially successful films in the late ‘90s. Ajith Kumar established a space for himself after playing the lead role in Vasanth’s ‘Aasai’ and ‘Vaali’, which were both blockbuster hits. However, it was ‘Billa’ in 2007 that shot Ajith to superstardom. The actor’s 50th film ‘Mankatha’ became a milestone film in his career and was received with unanimous appreciation. Last seen in ‘Vivegam’, Ajith Kumar is all set for his next big release ‘Viswasam’, directed by Siva. According to reports, Ajith Kumar earned close to Rs 31 crore for ‘Vivegam’ last year.

Making his debut in 'Nerukku Ner', Suriya has the reputation of performing diverse roles with utmost sincerity and perfection. Groomed by Bala, he played an eccentric and quirky Shakthi in ‘Pithamagan’, which is often cited as Suriya’s best film till date. Suriya’s first major success came through Gautham Menon’s cop thriller ‘Kaakha Kaakha’. Like Vijay, Suriya’s strength is the family audiences. He is also one of the few actors who has a reasonably good market in Telugu and Malayalam. Suriya’s ‘Singam’ series made terrific numbers in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Suriya is currently shooting for ‘NGK’, directed by Selvaraghavan. Suriya is reported to have earned Rs 34 crore last year.

Vikram can be described by the word perseverance. Despite back-to-back flops, Vikram never lost faith in his talent. After which, Bala’s ‘Sethu’ happened and the rest is history. Vikram’s terrific portrayal of Chitthan in 'Pithamagan' won him the National Award for Best Actor. In the mid-2000s, Vikram ventured into the commercial space and churned out best masala films like 'Dhill', 'Dhool', 'Gemini' and 'Saami' that established him as the ‘mass’ star among his fans. However, Vikram has always been choosy when it comes to scripts and is known to push boundaries. Last seen in ‘Sketch’, Vikram awaits the release of the spy-thriller ‘Dhruva Natchathiram’, in which he plays a RAW agent. ‘Chiyaan’ Vikram earns somewhere between Rs 20-25 crore for a film.

One of the biggest superstars of the country, Rajinikanth made his acting debut in K Balachander’s ‘Apoorva Raagangal’ in 1975. Rajini, who started off playing a menacing villain in films, soon started appearing as an independent hero.