SS Rajamouli, Sukumar, and Prashanth Neel Follow Profit-Sharing – Will Tollywood Adapt?

For years, discussions about remuneration in the film industry have centered around the massive fees paid to leading actors. While heroes still command the highest earnings, heroines and directors are now entering the competition. However, a long-standing issue persists—when a film flops, producers and distributors bear the losses, while highly paid heroes and directors remain financially secure.

This has sparked a fresh debate on whether top actors and filmmakers should shift from fixed remuneration to a profit-sharing model. Renowned producer Dil Raju, who faced substantial losses with Game Changer but found some relief with Varasudu, recently addressed this topic in a press meet held in Hyderabad.

Dil Raju, who is bringing the Malayalam blockbuster L2: Empuraan to Telugu audiences, shared an interesting business model from the film’s production. He revealed that superstar Mohanlal and director Prithviraj Sukumaran opted out of fixed payments and instead chose to share profits from the film’s revenue.

When asked if such a system could work in Tollywood, Dil Raju pointed to successful examples, stating that legendary filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli has long followed a profit-sharing model instead of taking upfront fees. He also noted that KGF and Salaar director Prashanth Neel has now adopted the same approach. Confident about the industry’s evolution, Dil Raju predicted that this model would soon gain momentum in Telugu cinema.

He further disclosed that he initially intended to implement this strategy for Game Changer. However, due to production delays, director Shankar and actor Ram Charan ultimately opted for traditional remuneration.

While this concept has its supporters, many producers and industry insiders remain skeptical. They argue that Tollywood’s top stars and directors are accustomed to hefty advance payments, making a transition to profit-sharing challenging. "Leading actors charge between ₹75–125 crore per film, and directors demand ₹25–50 crore. While profit-sharing sounds appealing, expecting them to risk financial losses entirely is unrealistic," commented an industry expert.

Although Rajamouli’s approach has proven successful for him, whether other Tollywood superstars and filmmakers will abandon fixed payments in favor of revenue-sharing remains uncertain. The coming years will reveal if this business model can reshape the Telugu film industry.

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