Bollywood's Bigg Boss: Salman Khan beats Shah Rukh with bigger salary

Shah Rukh and Salman Khan (AFP)

Published Wednesday, July 31, 2013

By Nitya Shah

They might’ve hugged and possibly hinted at a patch-up, but when it comes to the professional front, one is racing ahead of the other. And, this fierce competition, in effect, could create more harm than good.

The men in question are the one-time-best-friends Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan.

While their rivalry is legendary, their apparent reconciliation at a recent iftar party was even more celebrated.

Although there isn’t any confirmation of a ‘happily ever after’ just yet, we have reason to believe that the recent reports of Salman’s growing popularity and massive pay hike, might just stall the peace treaty. At least, for now.

For those who know how competitive Shah Rukh is, the news of Salman’s whopping pay hike on the telly reality show ‘Bigg Boss’ would not have gone unnoticed.

Especially, since the media statistics suggested that SRK was paid only INR2 crore per telly episode, while Salman will now get INR 5crore per episode.

It was Indian tabloid Mid-Day that unveiled Salman’s new pay cheque, which is double of what he had earned in the last season.

“As per industry sources, Salman, who was reportedly getting INR 2.5 crore per episode for anchoring Bigg Boss Season 6, will now be tucking in INR 5 crore per episode for season 7,” the tabloid highlighted.

The show is reportedly going for a format change, wherein Salman will appear in a double role – as an angel and a devil. And, he will anchor a total of 26 episodes.

This would mean that the beefy Khan will pocket a total of INR 130 crore for the ‘Bigg Boss’ deal, making this the biggest deal on television.

The increased pay possibly justifies the double act, claimed insiders.

A source has been quoted as saying, “This year Salman has charged a substantial amount as he has a double role. So, the shooting takes more time and the concept is different. He will shoot two episodes in a day per week.”

And, the reason for the rush is because he wants to finish work before the “trial for his 2002 hit-and-run case draws to a close”.

The tabloid also listed out the pay cheques for other top B-towners, with Aamir Khan coming in second with INR 3 crore (per episode) for his talk show ‘Satyamev Jayate’.

Earnings of other stars (per episode) were listed too, with Amitabh Bachchan getting INR 2 crore for ‘KBC’, while SRK and Hrithik Roshan got the same amount for ‘Zor Ka Jatka’ and ‘Just Dance’ respectively.

Akshay Kumar got INR 1.75-2 crore for ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi’.

Among the women, Madhuri Dixit tops with INR 50 lakhs, while Priyanka Chopra comes second with INR 45-50 lakhs, and Preity Zinta at third with INR 35 lakhs.