By Hindustan Times
Even though TV could be called the small screen, the pay cheques of popular actors at the tube aren’t small in any way. In keeping with industry sources, actor Ronit Roy commands the top remuneration at Rs. 1.25 lakh per day for his hit Sony show, Adalaat. He rose to fame with Balaji’s Kasauti Zindagi Kay in 2003 and together with his recent film Udaan’s (2010) success, he has cemented his position as a bankable actor within the industry.
Another reliable actor is Bade Achche Lagte Hain’s (BALH) lead Ram Kapoor, who also demands an enormous pay cheque. “Ekta ensures that her TV shows feature popular actors like Ram, Sakshi Tanwar, Mona Singh and Sameer Soni. She casts them as they have got high recall value and, therefore, she is willing to pay them well for his or her parts,” says an industry source. When BALH entered the TAM top 10 TV shows list a year ago, Ram got a pay hike and now makes Rs. 1 lakh per day.
Television producer Sumeet Mittal agrees, “Ram and Ronit are paid well above a lakh an afternoon. Most TV actors are paid on a per-day basis. New faces or lesser-known actors might receives a commission anywhere around Rs. 10,000 per day. The pay packets usually rely on the makers, the show and the actor’s popularities,” adds Mittal.
“New actors make piddly sums starting from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 10,000, but when their show is a hit, they make mega bucks on their second venture,” adds the source.
After actor Gurmeet Choudhary’s show Geet became a hit, he was signed on for Mittal’s Punar Vivaah, for which he's currently charging over Rs. 70,000 per day. Actor Hina Khan makes Rs. 20,000-Rs 30,000, while actors Angad Hasija and Kinshuk Mahajan charge Rs. 30,000-Rs 40,000 because they have got the hit show Bidaai to back them up.
Actor Anas Rashid, the lead of the present primary show, Diya Aur Baati Hum, makes Rs. 15,000-Rs 20,000 only.
“There is a few disparity within the payments. Many actors ask for unheard-of prices and because of the channel’s preference receives a commission greater than they deserve. At times, a well-liked face is wanted in a cameo role to hook the audience. Actors take pleasure in such situations. However, to work with big production houses owned by Ekta Kapoor, Rajan Shahi or Sumit Mittal, actors are known to have made compromises,” claims a source.
Highest paid actors on tv
Ronit Roy -Rs 1.25 lakh
Ram Kapoor - Rs. 1 lakh
Mona Singh -Rs 70K-Rs 80K
Sakshi Tanwar -Rs 60K-Rs 80K
Gurmeet Choudhary -Rs70K
Shweta Tiwari -Rs 50K-Rs 65K
Pratyusha Banerjee -Rs 40K-Rs 50K
Karan Kundra -Rs 50K
Kavita Kaushik -Rs 50K
Aamna Shariff -Rs50K
