Meet highest-paid actor in India who charged ₹325 crore for one project, not Shah Rukh Khan, Allu Arjun or Salman

Long gone are the days when actors charging ₹10 crore for a project hit headlines. Currently, there are multiple actors who draw paycheques even heftier than the Khans-- Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan. But topping them all is a new-age actor who earned ₹325 crore from just a single project, although released in two parts, Dhurandhar. We are talking about Ranveer Singh, who turned a year older today.

Ranveer Singh, the highest-paid actor in India

At 40, Ranveer Singh became the highest-paid actor in Indian cinema. His highest-grossing films, Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge, launched him as one of the biggest superstars among the millennial actors in India and Bollywood.

Box office success

According to Sacnilk, Singh's films Dhurandhars earned a whopping ₹3,100 crore worldwide as a franchise. In India, the films alone earned ₹1,000 crore despite missing out on the Gulf market. The film was banned across the six Gulf countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain, over anti-Pakistan content. However, both films emerged as highest grossing Indian film of 2025 and 2026 respectively, smashing multiple records at the box office.

How much did Ranveer Singh earn from Dhurandhar

According to Hindustan Times and other reports, Ranveer Singh, unlike his usual fee, opted for a profit-sharing model this time. Reports also suggested that Singh might have invested his own funds to make up for production going over budget. This might have increased his profit share even more in the two films.

Reportedly, considering his distribution share, theatrical earnings, and other payments from digital rights, satellite rights, and music rights, Singh might have earned around ₹325 crore.

While Jio Studios has secured the largest share of the film's overall profits, Aditya Dhar's B62 Studios got the rest of the revenue. Among the cast, Ranveer Singh has received the biggest payment, which is believed to be the highest ever earned by an Indian actor for a single project.

Other featured in the franchise were R Madhavan, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal, Sara Arjun and Rakesh Bedi. It also starred Akshaye Khanna, Manav Gohil, Danish Pandor, Naveen Kaushik, Saumya Tandon, Gaurav Gera, Raj Zutshi, Abhay Arora (Part 2) and Suvinder Pal Vicky.

Ranveer Singh vs Rajinikanth, Allu Arjun

Prior to birthday boy Ranveer Singh, the title for the highest-paid actor in India was held by superstar Rajinikanth, who reportedly earned more than ₹250 crore from 2024 blockbuster Jailer. Besides him, Allu Arjun also held the top spot with more than ₹200 crore in fees for Pushpa, just like Prabhas for Kalki 2898 AD.

Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan

In Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan, who is also the richest actor in India, earned somewhere around ₹200 crore each for Pathaan and Jawan, his biggest paycheque for a single production. Even Aamir Khan and Salman Khan recorded the highest earnings prior to that.

Meanwhile, Dhurandhar is currently gearing up for its upcoming release in Japan, which is set to further accelerate its worldwide collection. It will release on 10 July in Japan.