When A Heroine Out-Earned All The Top Heroes—Then Quit At 33

Deepika Padukone recently walked out of the film Spirit because she wasn’t paid what she asked for—₹20 crore. Meanwhile, her co-star Prabhas is charging over ₹100 crore. This sparked a debate about the gender pay gap in Indian cinema. While some believe male stars earn more due to market value, others call it unfair and sexist.

But did you know? In the 1990s, a woman—Sridevi—was the highest-paid actor in India, earning more than even top male stars.

Sridevi: The Queen of Indian Cinema

In the early 90s, Sridevi became the first Indian actress to charge ₹1 crore for a single film. She reportedly took that amount for Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja in 1993. At that time, only South Indian superstar Chiranjeevi earned more. Soon after, she even out-earned big names like Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Haasan.

Back then, the Khans—Shah Rukh, Salman, and Aamir—along with Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dutt, were charging between ₹50-75 lakh per film. It wasn’t until the late 90s, after Sridevi had stepped away from acting, that male stars started charging ₹1 crore and more.

A True Pan-India Star

Sridevi wasn’t just a Bollywood icon—she was a star in Tamil and Telugu cinema too. Her powerful performances in films like Chandni, Gumraah, Army, and Laadla made her a bankable solo lead. This helped her command higher paychecks than her male co-stars.

Why Sridevi Quit Films at 33

In 1996, at the peak of her career, Sridevi left the film industry because she was expecting her first child. Her last film before the break was Judaai (1997). She was just 33 years old when she stepped away to focus on raising her daughters, Janhvi and Khushi.

She returned briefly to TV in 2004 with Malini Iyer, and made a big-screen comeback in 2012 with English Vinglish. She later starred in Puli (2015) and Mom (2017). Sadly, she passed away in 2018 at the age of 54.

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