How Much Did Lokesh Kanagaraj Get To Direct Rajinikanth In Coolie? His Remuneration Will Shock You

Director Lokesh Kanagaraj has seemingly confirmed a massive hike in his remuneration for his next film Coolie, starring superstar Rajinikanth.

Lokesh Kanagaraj's Remuneration Revealed

In an interaction with The Hollywood Reporter, Lokesh was asked if he was being paid ₹50 crore for the project. While he did not directly confirm the figure, he hinted that his earnings have doubled compared to his previous project, Leo, starring Vijay.

He said, "Leo collected 600+ crore, that may have helped the movie to get twice my Leo salary for Coolie." This revelation places Lokesh Kanagaraj among the highest-paid filmmakers in Tamil cinema, only behind Shankar, who reportedly earned around ₹50 crore for Indian 2, featuring Kamal Haasan.

Who Is The Highest Paid Director In India?

SS Rajamouli continues to be the highest-paid director in India. As per IMDb and reports by Hindustan Times, the Baahubali and RRR filmmaker charges approximately ₹200 crore per film. This staggering amount includes his upfront fee, profit-sharing, and bonuses from the sale of distribution rights.

For RRR, Rajamouli reportedly earned close to ₹200 crore, a record sum even higher than the fees commanded by Bollywood superstars like Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan, who reportedly earn between ₹150-180 crore per film.

Industry insiders had told HT earlier that no other Indian filmmaker comes close to Rajamouli's fee. It is reported that directors like Sandeep Reddy Vanga (Kabir Singh and Animal), and Prashanth Neel (KGF and Salaar) are getting around ₹90 crore per film, while Rajkumar Hirani reportedly takes home ₹80 crore.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Sukumar, and Siddharth Anand, charges upwards of ₹40 crore per project. Filmmakers such as Karan Johar and Rohit Shetty typically forgo a director's fee as they produce their own films, choosing instead to earn from profit shares.

Meanwhile, Coolie, produced by Sun Pictures, is set for a grand worldwide release on August 14. The film is being made as a multilingual venture with an ensemble of top actors in negative roles tailored for different regional markets. Nagarjuna will play the villain in the Tamil and Telugu versions, Aamir Khan will appear in the Hindi version, and Upendra will take on the antagonist's role in the Kannada version.