Is Pooja Hegde getting a hefty paycheque for Thalapathy 65?

By: Mohnish Singh

After the riotous success of Master (2021), Tamil superstar Vijay has teamed up with filmmaker Nelson Dhilipkumar for his next directorial offering. The film, which was announced months before the release of Master, has been tentatively titled Thalapathy 65.

According to reports, Dhilipkumar will commence the first shooting schedule of the film as soon as the entire cast is finalised. While it is confirmed that Vijay is playing the male lead in the film, casting for other important characters is still underway.

If fresh reports are to be believed, actress Pooja Hegde has been cast to play the female lead in the film. Since Thalapathy 65 is set to be a pan-India film, Hegde is set to receive a whopping amount for her role in it. Several media outlets report that the actress will receive a hefty paycheque of 35 million to play the leading lady opposite Vijay.

However, the makers are yet to confirm her association with the big-ticket project. Earlier, some media outlets also reported that Vijay had taken a pay cut due to the Coronavirus-induced loss the industry suffered.

But from what we hear, Thalapathy 65 is going to be one of the costliest films of Tamil cinema as the thunderous response to Vijay's latest release Master in other languages encouraged the makers to mount this film on a lavish scale and release it in multiple languages, including Hindi.

The film is expected to begin production soon. The makers are planning to shoot it mostly in Chennai. Popular music director Anirudh Ravichander will score music for the film, while Manoj Paramahamsa will handle the camera.

Meanwhile, Pooja Hegde has several interesting projects in her pocket. Last seen in blockbuster Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020), she is currently filming for four high-profile films, including Most Eligible Bachelor, Radhe Shyam, Cirkus, and Acharya. She will also romance Salman Khan in Sajid Nadiadwala’s next production Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali.