Today, Akshay Kumar is known as Bollywood’s most bankable star, commanding a staggering ₹1 crore per day, thanks to his box-office winning streak with films like Airlift, Housefull 3 and Rustom. But what may surprise readers is that this “one-crore-a-day” tag was first achieved not by Akshay, but by the original megastar of Indian cinema — Amitabh Bachchan — more than three decades ago!
In the early 1980s, Amitabh Bachchan was at the absolute peak of his career. His films — Don, Trishul, Laawaris, Naseeb, Kaalia — were rewriting box office history. Producers across the country were desperate to sign him, often willing to pay any price. One such producer was Poornachandra Rao Atluri from the South, who was launching superstar Rajinikanth in Bollywood with the film Andha Kanoon (1983). Rao was determined to add star power by roping in Amitabh for a special role. But there was a problem: Bachchan’s calendar was jam-packed with commitments to top filmmakers, leaving no scope for extra shoots.
Despite multiple refusals, Poornachandra Rao persisted. Finally, in sheer desperation, he offered Amitabh Bachchan ₹1 lakh for just one day’s shoot and pleaded for a cameo appearance. Amitabh Bachchan, moved by his sincerity, agreed. What was meant to be a single day extended into multiple days as Rao was so impressed with Bachchan’s performance that he expanded his role. True to his word, he continued paying Amitabh ₹1 lakh per day.
While the figure may sound modest by today’s standards, adjusting for inflation, ₹1 lakh in 1981 is equivalent to ₹1 crore today! That means Amitabh Bachchan effectively became the first actor to command the kind of daily remuneration that today’s superstars boast of.
Interestingly, when Amitabh signed Andha Kanoon on this one-lakh-per-day deal, the media frenzy was far greater than the buzz created decades later when Shah Rukh Khan did a cameo in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. It was seen as a groundbreaking moment in film industry economics, cementing Bachchan’s position not only as the most loved but also the highest-valued star of his time.
So while Akshay Kumar proudly holds the tag of Bollywood’s “one-crore-a-day” star today, history shows that Amitabh Bachchan had already set that benchmark in the early 80s. As always, the Shahenshah of Bollywood was years ahead of his time!
