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Saajan film director recalls Salman Khan's fees skyrocketed from Rs 5000 to Rs 5 lakh; reveals signing him on THIS huge amount
Saajan film director Lawrence D'Souza shared insights into Salman Khan's initial days. He revealed how the actor's signing amount soared owing to the success of his films.
Salman Khan is an eminent personality in the Indian film industry. He is now amongst the highest-paid actors in Bollywood. However, it was not the same during his initial days as an actor. Lawrence D'Souza, the director of Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt and Madhuri Dixit starrer, Saajan (1991), recently revealed how much the cast was paid. He also shared how megastar was once signed on the amount of Rs 5000 and then his fees skyrocketed to Rs 5 lakh within a short time.
In a candid chat with Friday Talkies, director and cinematographer Lawrence D'Souza talked about his relationship with Salman Khan. He remembered the days when the actor's fees saw a significant hike, with every movie becoming a hit. Reminiscing the initial days of the Sikandar actor, Lawrence revealed, “We went for the trial of Maine Pyar Kiya at Rajshri; me, S Ramanathan and Prayagraj, they had kept a special screening for the three of us. Initially, I didn’t enjoy the film much, but as the film went on, I started liking him.”
Lawrence further added that after watching the trial, S Ramanathan asked him to call Salman and decided to sign him. At that time, Lawrence was doing Ramanathan's Pratiksha. The duo called the actor and immediately signed him. “I called Salman at his (Ramanathan) office near Raj Babbar’s office in Juhu. We paid Salman Rs 5,000 as the signing amount. S Ramanathan went quiet after paying him, but the project could not make it,” told D'Souza.
The director remembered that after losing out on the first opportunity to work with Salman Khan, Producer Ramanathan again called the actor as he delivered another success and paid Khan Rs 5 lakh for yet another project. However, the producer went quiet again, and Salman delivered another hit. Interestingly, Ramanathan woke up and called the actor to pay another signing amount. The Dabangg actor then told Lawrence, “Yaar, Kya hai ye aadmi? Aata hai, Paisa deke chala jata, phir chup chap baith jata hai (What kind of person is he? He pays me every time and then does nothing).”
While laughing at the same, Lawerence further stated that S Ramanathan's film never got made with Salman Khan, although he managed to work with him in Saajan. The director went on to reveal that Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit were paid Rs 11 lakh for the romantic drama, whereas Sanjay Dutt got Rs 12 lakh as his acting fees.
On the work front, Salman Khan is currently shooting for Sikandar under the direction of AR Murugadoss. Sajid Nadiadwala is bankrolling the project on a massive budget, and the action movie is slated to hit the theatres on Eid 2025.
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