THIS actress was the highest-paid actor in India, earned more than Shah Rukh Khan; Rajinikanth wanted to marry her

Mint

6 days ago

India's highest-paid actress is Priyanka Chopra, earning around ₹ 30 crore per film. In contrast, actor Allu Arjun is the highest-paid actor in India, taking home a whopping ₹ 300 crore for Pushpa 2: The Rule. The vast gap between these figures speaks volumes about the gender pay disparity in the industry — a stark contrast to an era when this actress was the highest-paid star in India, even earning more than Shah Rukh Khan, Salman, Chiranjeevi, Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth. In fact, she was so admired that even Rajinikanth once wanted to propose to her.
The actress was none other than the late Sridevi.
Back in the 90s, Sridevi, often called one of India's first lady superstar, made history by becoming the first female actor to demand ₹ 1 crore for a film.
She reportedly charged this amount for the 1993 release Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja. The film was among the most expensive Indian movies of its time. Back then, the only actor charging more per film was Chiranjeevi. However, Sridevi quickly raised her fees, and by the mid-90s, even as Kamal Haasan and Amitabh Bachchan entered the ₹ 1-crore club, it is believed that Sridevi was commanding a higher paycheck than both of them.
Even youngsters of the industry, including Shah Rukh, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dutt, were not earning close to Sridevi's fees. As per a report of Hindustan Times, they earned within the range of ₹ 50-75 lakh from 1992 to 97.
The Khans entered the ₹ 1 crore club only after Sridevi quit films in the late 90s.
Sridevi's unmatched versatility and pan-India stardom made her a top name across the Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu film industries. One of the few actresses who could carry films like Chandni, Gumraah, Army, and Laadla on her own, she often landed stronger roles than her peers and even charged more than many male co-stars of the time.
Rajinikanth, who worked with Sridevi in Ranuva Veeran, Pokkiri Raja, and Chaalbaaz, was smitten by her. According to filmmaker K. Balachander, Balachander, Rajinikanth once went to propose to Sridevi at her house.
However, just as Rajinikanth arrived, a sudden power outage took place at Sridevi's house. Rajinikanth, who is said to be superstitious, took it as a bad omen and left without conveying his feelings. It is said that he never shared his feelings with her again.
Sridevi left films at the peak of her career when she got pregnant with her first child, Janhvi Kapoor, with Boney Kapoor. After the 1997 film, Judaai, she remained absent from films for nearly 15 years as she raised her daughter, Janhvi and Khushi Kapoor.
The actor later made a brief comeback with the television show Malini Iyer in 2004-05. Her big-screen comeback came in 2012 with English Vinglish. She starred in films like Puli (2015) and Mom (2017) before her unfortunate death due to accidental drowning in 2018.