Bollywood’s highest-paid singer charges ₹3 crore per song; sang for SRK, Aamir: Guess who? Not Arijit, Shreya or Sonu

AR Rahman, the legendary music composer and record producer, is currently the highest-paid singer in India, according to a Hindustan Times report. Industry insiders confirmed that AR Rahman, who is not even a 'full-time; singer, charges a whooping sum of up to ₹3 crore for each song he sings. Notably, other singers charge 12-15 times less than India's highest-paid singer.

The estimated net worth of the 57-year-old music composer, who first shot to fame in 2005 when he was listed on Time's all-time “10 Best Soundtracks,” stands at $280 million. The talented artist, who is well-known for his works in Hindi and Tamil films, traced his path to glory over the years. AR Rahman's most acclaimed works include ‘Jai Ho’ from Dev Patel and Freida Pinto’s Slumdog Millionaire and the title track from Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala’s Dil Se.

The Oscar-winning singer, music composer and director, reportedly charges the hefty premium to discourage composers from approaching him. AR Rahman's main focus has always been his own songs and thus prefers to sing only for those films where he works as a music director. In case of someone else's composition, the film producers must pay him the exorbitant amount if they want him to lend his voice.

AR Rahman is scheduled to attend the Lata Mangeshkar Memorial Talk in Goa at the 55th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) on November 27. The event will be held at the Kala Academy, which will focus on the topic of Musical Theatre in India.

List of other highest-paid singers of India

Let's move to the list of 'full-time' singers, among whom 40-year-old Shreya Ghoshal emerges as the highest-paid singer in India. As per media reports, the singer of the hit song Chikni Chameli charges ₹25 lakh per song. Contemporary singer Sunidhi Chauhan follows, as the second highest-paid full-time singer, who charges ₹18-20 lakh per song. The report notes that renowned playback singer and musical composer Arijit Singh charges the same amount as 41-year-old Sunidhi Chauhan. He is known for his hits Galti Se Mistake, Hamari Adhuri Kahani and Neki Ki Raah among others.

Next on the list is playback singer and music director Sonu Nigam, who reportedly charges ₹15-18 lakh for one song. In recent years, rapper Badshah and singer Diljit Dosanjh have hiked their fees and may soon join the list of the top five highest-paid singers in India.