Ilayathalapathy Vijay has created a record for himself in terms of remuneration. He has received his highest ever pay cheque from producer Kalaipuli S Dhanu for his forthcoming movie.

Rumours are rife that Kalaipuli S Dhanu shelled out ₹30 crore (Excluding tax) for Vijay to star in his 59th movie as the hero. This is the highest ever remuneration paid to him. 

A poster from 'Puli'
A first look poster from Vijay's 'Puli'.IB Times India

It is now being said that Vijay is next only to Rajinikanth to have got ₹30 crore or more as remuneration to star in a movie. His contemporaries are still getting somewhere between ₹15 to ₹22 crore, says the buzz.

The industry raises the remuneration of actors based on their success rates and the first point considered is return on investment. If a star continues to deliver back-to-back hits, his salary sees a raise and if he is part of flops films, it is obvious that his remuneration sees a plunge. 

The reach of the actor also plays an important role in fixing his remuneration. Vijay has a huge market in Tamil and Malayalam cinema. Similarly, Suriya enjoys a good market in Tamil and Telugu. It means they both have equal reach and based on this factor paychecks are decided by the producers.

Coming back to Vijay's project with Kalaipuli S Dhanu, the movie is presently called "Vijay 59". It is directed by Atlee Kumar and has Samantha and Amy Jackson in lead roles. It is a family-oriented action drama, which has legendary filmmaker Mahendran in the role of the antagonist.

Prabhu, Radhikaa Sarathkumar, KS Ravikumar and others are in the cast in the movie, which has GV Prakash Kumar's music, Ruben's editing and George C Williams' cinematography.