‘Padmavati’ Paycheck Makes Deepika the New Queen of Bollywood

Deepika Padukone just became Bollywood’s highest paid actress by signing ‘Padmavati’ for Rs 12 crore.

Deepika Padukone’s Hollywood stint has turned her into a global icon. Not only that, it has made her Bollywood’s highest paid actress ever. And all this success is knocking her door even before the release of xXx: Return of Xander Cage.

#behindthescenes #fun #leadingman #serenaunger #xXxTheMovie #ReturnOfXanderCage 😎 @vindiesel

A video posted by Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) on Jul 27, 2016 at 9:58pm PDT

According to a Mumbai Mirror report, Deepika has been offered Rs 12 crore for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s next period drama Padmavati. This is a huge 12X leap from the 1 crore fee that she was paid for Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela, just three years ago.

For Ram-Leela she got Rs 1 crore, for Bajirao-Mastani, which came two years later, it was Rs 7 crore, this time it is Rs 12.62 crore, making her the first Bollywood actress to break the Rs 10 crore barrier. 

A source told Mumbai Mirror

Apparently the actress gave her nod to Padmavati via email the same day that she got the impossible-to-refuse offer of Rs 11 crore plus taxes. So far Kangana Ranaut has claimed to be the highest paid actress in the industry, and reportedly charges Rs 11 crore per film.

@deepikapadukone caught in a candid moment as she poses with her #IIFA2016 Best Performance in a Leading Role - Female award for Piku. Share your wishes and congratulations in the comments below! -Team DP

A photo posted by Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) on Jun 26, 2016 at 9:53pm PDT

For the sake of comparison, the likes of Hrithik and the Khans make approximately Rs 50 crore per film and even hold a share in the box office profits, while Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor crossed the Rs 10 crore mark very early on in their careers, making their current fee anywhere between Rs 20- 40 crore.

Deepika was also rubbing shoulders with the Khans of Bollywood in the top 10 of the Forbes’ ‘100 richest Indian celebrities’ list of 2015. This is an incredible feat given that Deepika has been in the industry for less than a decade and even has age on her side, while SRK, Salman and Aamir have been around for much longer and have crossed the big 50 too.

So what’s next for Deepika? Will she turn producer like Anushka Sharma? Will she be the first to actually break the disparity ceiling in Bollywood? Will she nudge a new wave in Hindi cinema that makes the heroine the real hero of a film? We sure hope so.

For now, Padmavati is set to go on floors next month and with the female lead in place, we can’t wait to find out who her leading man will be.

(Source: Mumbai Mirror)