Nayanthara enters Rs 10-cr club, retains top South actress status

A Bollywood film (her debut) with Shah Rukh Khan, multiple offers across the Southern industry, Rs 10-crore paycheck for her 75th film — Nayanthara is stepping up the gear.

That she is the highest-paid actress in South India is widely known, but if a little birdie in Kodambakkam is to be believed, it’s the first time the Lady Superstar is taking home Rs 10 crore for a film — for her upcoming flick with debutant Nilesh Krishna, a former assistant director of ace director Shankar. The film will be produced by Zee Studios, Trident Arts, and Naad Studios.

Trade insiders say Bollywood A-listers like Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt have been charging over than ₹10 crore per film, but it’s the first time a South actress is entering the elite club.

And for Atlee-directed Jawan, where she shares the screen with King Khan, the Kerala-born actress is reportedly charging an undisclosed amount that’s much higher than the Rs 10 crore she is getting for the new Tamil film.

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OTT, box-office darling

So why is the trade so gung-ho about Nayanthara? “Apart from her stupendous box-office track record, Over-the-Top (OTT) players are ready to shell out around ₹18-22 crore (direct premiere) for the films headlined by Nayanthara. That’s a big factor which even some of the male stars can’t assure,” a trade source in Mumbai told The Federal.

“It’s a safe bet for producers if they invest around ₹20 crore in her films. Let me say not many male stars in Tamil Nadu have the potential to recover ₹20-crore investment,” said a producer who is all set to work with the actress soon.

With her films like Imaikaa Nodigal and Kolamavu Kokila having earned more than ₹17 crore worldwide, her box-office clout is indisputable. “Whenever Nayanthara shares screen space with big stars like Ajith or Vijay, she brings in more revenue for their films as seen with movies like Viswasam and Bigil. Even big stars are aware of her box-office prowess,” says another trade tracker in Chennai.

In Jawan, her long-awaited Bollywood debut, we hear Nayanthara is playing a powerful character, “which is so different from the usual roles she plays”.

The actress also has Alphonse Puthren’s Gold, Chiranjeevi’s Godfather, Jayam Ravi’s Iraivan, and Ashwin Saravanan’s Connect (her home production) lined up for release.

Also read: Nayanthara, the diva who made cash-cows out of women-centric films

That said, her Rs 10-crore salary for this new film is just 10% of what Vijay, Ajith, and Rajinikanth charge although she is the Lady Superstar of Tamil Nadu.

As a producer too, she is on a roll: along with her husband Vignesh Shivan’s Rowdy Pictures, Nayanthara is also producing films like Pebbles, Oorkuruvi, Connect, Walking Talking Strawberry Icecream and Gujarati film Subh Yatra. Two of her production ventures Netrikann and Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal have already been released.