Rajinikanth gets staggering Rs 150 crore salary for Rs 350 crore-Coolie: Report
Actor Rajinikanth, known for his larger-than-life on-screen persona, is all set for his cinematic spectacle with director Lokesh Kanagaraj's 'Coolie.' The film, which is the first collaboration between the veteran actor and the filmmaker, is reportedly made on a massive budget of Rs 350 crore. Apart from being mounted on a massive scale, 'Coolie' has joined the league of movies that has paid one of the highest remunerations to the lead actor.advertisementA recent report by Pinkvilla stated that the film is being made on a huge budget, justifying the star power. Quoting a source close to the development, the portal wrote, "Rajinikanth has bagged an upfront salary of Rs 150 crore for 'Coolie,' which is amongst the highest of all time for an actor. Lokesh Kanagaraj, on the other hand, got a pay cheque of Rs 50 crore for 'Coolie,' which is again an all-time record for a director. The remaining Rs 150 crore has been spent on mounting the film, alongside the fees for other members of the star-cast. The total budget of 'Coolie', excluding print and publicity, is Rs 350 crore."It also added that the producers have kept around Rs 25 crore aside for print and publicity, taking the total budget to Rs 375 crore. Given the reported recoveries of 'Coolie,' it is being considered a risk-free project despite the pre-release hype.advertisement
The report concluded, "'Coolie' has fetched Rs 130 crore from digital players, Rs 90 crore from satellite, and Rs 20 crore from music rights. This takes the total non-theatrical recoveries to Rs 240 crore, leaving Rs 135 crore to be recovered from theatrical medium."Apart from Rajinikanth, 'Coolie' also features Nagarjuna, Aamir Khan, Upendra and Shruti Haasan in crucial roles. The film is produced by Sun Pictures.'Coolie' releases in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi among other Indian languages on August 14 worldwide in standard and IMAX formats.After 'Coolie,' Rajinikanth is working on Nelson Dilipkumar's action-drama 'Jailer 2.' The film will release in theatres next year.
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