Known since the 1990s as "New Bollywood", contemporary Bollywood is linked to economic liberalization in india during the early 1990s. Early in the decade, the pendulum swung back toward family-centered romantic musicals. Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) was followed by blockbusters such as Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994) introducing a new generation of popular actors, including the three Khans: Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, and Salman Khan, who has starred in most of the top ten highest-grossing Bollywood film.
The 2000s saw increased Bollywood recognition worldwide due to growing (and prospering) NRI and Desi communities overseas. The growth of the Indian economy and a demand for quality entertainment in this era led the country's film industry to new heights in production values, cinematography, and screenwriting as well as technical advances in areas such as special effects and animation.
As the largest film industry in the world by volume, Its growth and international appeal over the succeeding decades since then have allowed for a new set of stars to be born in the industry which have given such actors the star power to command hefty acting fees and in the process make tons of money.
Bollywood actors’ fees are measured in millions. These actors are extremely popular in India and the Asian continent for their work and have consequently become household names in the industry. Most of them have had a chain of box office successes that have catapulted them into the cadre of A-list Bollywood actors.
Therefore, their salaries and net worth tend to be high. Read on for the 12 highest paid Bollywood actors in 2021.
12. Tiger Shroff – $7-9 million
Jai Hemant "Tiger" Shroff is an Indian actor and singer known for his work in Hindi-language action films. The son of actor Jackie Shroff and producer Ayesha Dutt, he made his film debut with the 2014 romantic action film Heropanti (which made him famous), Flying Jatt (2016), and Baghi 2 (2019). He has a very large fan base and will surely become an even bigger star.
11. Varun Dhawan – $10 million
Varun Dhawan is the son of the famous director David Dhawan. He is known for his work in numerous movies and advertisements. He endorses different brands as well. One of the country's highest-paid celebrities, he has featured in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list since 2014.
10. Shahid Kapoor – $11 million
Starting his career in 2003 with Ishq Visq, he truly got Bollywood recognition in 2005 and 2006 and has since become one of the most sought-after actors in Bollywood at the moment.
Shahid Kapoor is a well-known Bollywood superstar and his movie ‘Kabir Singh’, which was a super duper hit in India, Shahid Kapoor used to charge 20 crores for a movie in 2020 but in 2021 Shahid Kapoor would charge 35 crores for a movie.
9. Ajay Devgan – $12-13 million
Ajay Devgn, is an Indian film actor, director, and producer. He is widely considered as one of the most popular and influential actors of Hindi cinema, who has appeared in over a hundred Hindi films. His real name is Vishal Veeru Devgan, and his first movie was Phool Aur Kante. It made him famous, and he won a Filmfare Award for the best debut actor for this movie.
8. Amitabh Bachchan – $16 million
The legendary actor is known as Big B and has worked on more than 190 movies. He started in 1969 with the movie Saat Hindustani. He won 15 Filmfare Awards and 4 National Awards. He holds the honor of a Knight of the Legion of Honor.
7. Ranbir Kapoor – $16-18 million
Ranbir Kapoor has featured in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list since 2012. Kapoor is the recipient of several awards, including six Filmfare Awards. His first movie was Saawariya, while he also starred in Bachna ae Haseeno. More movies came after this, which made him famous and successful.
6. Ranveer Singh – $17-20 million
Ranveer Singh debuted in Bollywood thanks to the movie Baja Barat, receiving the best debut actor Filmfare award for his role. He starred in various other movies since then, most of them hits.
5. Hrithik Roshan – $25-28 million
He is the son of a famous filmmaker Rakesh Roshan and is known as the Greek God because of his good looks and a strong physique. His first movie was Kaho Na Pyaar Hai, a big hit. Since then, he has starred in dozens of hit movies.
4. Shah Rukh Khan – $30-32 million
Shah Rukh Khan is known as the King of Bollywood, SRK or Badshah of Bollywood. He is an amazing actor, known for romantic movies. HE received 14 Filmfare Awards and the Padma Shri Award. He is also famous for multiple hit TV series. He supports children’s education, owns the cricket IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders, as is the co-owner of Red Chillies Entertainment and Motion Pictures Production House.
3. Aamir Khan – $30-33 million
Known by his nickname Mr. Perfectionist, the actor works only on one film at the time, in order to give out the best performance. He has won eight Filmfare Awards, four National Awards, a Padma Shri Awards, and a Padma Bhushan award. His first movie came in 1998, called Qayamat Se Qayamat, a hugely successful one. The actor is also very popular in China. He also directs and produces movies now.
2. Salman Khan – $38.5 million
At the moment, he is the biggest actor Bollywood has to offer. More than a billion people follow him on social media. He is the son of the famous writer Salim Khan. His debut was the movie Biwi Ho Toh Aisi (1988). He also held spots on the Forbes list of highest-paid actors. He won two National Awards and two Filmfare Awards. Other than acting, he runs the non-profit organization called “Being Human”.
1. Akshay Kumar – $40.5 million
His real name is Hari Om Bhatia. His first movie was Aaj in 1987, a box office flop. His next movie was Khiladi in 1992, after which he became widely known as Khiladi Akshay Kumar. He has always been one of the most sought-after stars in Bollywood. He was once the seventh highest-paid actor in the world, according to Forbes. He won the Padma Shri in 2017, as well as Filmfare Awards, a Zee Cinema award, IIFA award, and many others.
These were the highest Bollywood fees for their most paid actors. Although not that popular in the rest of the world, they are their nation’s pride, loved and adored by billions.
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