This actress charges Rs 3 crore for a four-minute song, making her the highest-paid item girl in Bollywood
The concept of special dance numbers in films is not new for India. As far back as the 50s, actresses like Helen would have cameos in films only for dance numbers. After the turn of the century, these songs came to be called ‘item songs’ and the women headlining them would be referred to as ‘item girls’. While not many approve of the term, it has nevertheless stuck. Today, the highest-paid dancers in Bollywood charge crores per song, often more than even the female lead of the film.
Bollywood’s highest-paid item girl is…
Sunny Leone currently has the honour of charging the highest amount for an item song in a Hindi film. The actress reportedly charged Rs 3 crore for Laila in Raees. This astronomical sum is just for a four-minute appearance in the film. Reportedly, the actress charged even more for her song Baby Doll in Ragini MMS 2, but in that film, Sunny had a leading role too and it is unclear what her breakdown of remuneration was. Sunny’s per song fees is higher than the likes of Nora Fatehi, chow charges Rs 2 crore per song. Top actresses like Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor, and Jacqueline Fernandez also charge somewhere between Rs 1.5-2 crore for a song. Sunny, however, is not the highest-paid item girl in all of India. Telugu star Samantha Ruth Prabhu charged Rs 5 crore for her appearance in Pushpa The Rise’s chartbuster Oo Antava.
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Sunny Leone with Shah Rukh Khan in Laila from Raees
How Sunny charges more for a song than what many heroines charge for lead roles
The Rs 3-crore sum may look big but it becomes even more impressive when taken in context of what Sunny’s contemporaries and other colleagues are charging. Tabu, for instance, charges this much for an entire film. Others like Vaani Kapoor, Yami Gautam, Rakul Preet charge less for lead roles in films.
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