This actress charged Rs 5 crore for appearing in just one song, more than what many top heroines take for leading big films.
Dance numbers have been part of Indian cinema since talkies were invented in the 30s and song-and-dance routine became commonplace in Indian films. Contrary to the West, India does not have a separate musical genre as almost all films are musicals by default. There is one genre, or rather role, that is exclusive to Indian films and that is of an item number or special dance number. Over the years, these item songs have come to be very important for films, often almost dictating the promotional strategies. This has meant the remuneration charged by the women for these songs is also now sky high.
India’s highest-paid item girl, who charges Rs 5 crore per song
While not technically a dancer or performer who exclusively does dance numbers, the highest-paid performer in this bracket is leading actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu. The Telugu-Tamil star reportedly charged Rs 5 crore for just one song – Oo Antava in Pushpa The Rise. This figure is more than what most regular performers charge for one song. Leading dancers like Nora Fatehi reportedly charge Rs 2 crore per song, the same amount that Sunny Leone takes. Malaika Arora is further back in the pecking order, charging Rs 50 lakh-1 crore per song.
How much top heroines charge for dance numbers
Leading actresses often charge the most amount when it comes to these dance numbers, capitalising on their star power more than their dancing abilities. Kareena Kapoor used to charge over Rs 1.5 crore years ago when she did item songs. Tamannaah Bhatia has reportedly earned Rs 1 crore per song, while Katrina Kaif charges over Rs 2 crore per song. One of the highest-paid actresses for this genre is Jacqueline Fernandez, who takes home Rs 3 crore for each song she appears in.
How Samantha charged more for one song than most top heroines’ full film fees
What makes Samantha’s Rs 5-crore paycheck for Oo Antava even more impressive is that Rashmika Mandanna, who was the female lead in Pushpa, reportedly charged only Rs 2 crore for the whole film. In fact, many top actresses of today do not charge in excess of Rs 5 crore. Names like Janhvi Kapoor, Pooja Hegde, Tamannaah Bhatia, and Taapsee Pannu all charge less than this amount for whole films, as per reports.
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