What is the story about?
Bhooth Bangla, which marks the reunion of Akshay Kumar and Priyadarshan after 14 years, is heading for its theatrical release this week, on April 17. Among
the highly anticipated films of 2026, the horror-comedy also stars Paresh Rawal, Wamiqa Gabbi, Jisshu Sengupta, Rajpal Yadav, Tabu, and others. While the movie holds a crucial parameter for Akshay, who's been awaiting a major hit for some time, the same applies to Priyadarshan, who is trying to revive his signature genre of comedy. A recent report revealed Akshay Kumar's salary for Bhooth Bangla. It revealed that he even took a pay cut for the movie.
Akshay Kumar's salary cut
According to Koimoi, Akshay is giving a lot of importance to his return to horror comedy. For that, he even altered the remuneration. Infact, the earnings of the starcast are also the talk of the town. The report claims that while Akshay reportedly took a significant 28.5% pay cut for Bhooth Bangla, as compared to his previous outing Jolly LLB 3, he still remained the highest-paid cast member on its set by a massive margin. While he took home Rs 70 crore for Jolly LLB 3, for Bhoot Bangla, he came down to Rs 50 crore.
Akshay, known for taking a share in the profits of his movies, possibly agreed to take less money to keep the film's overall budget low and safe. But, even though Bhooth Bangla's overall budget stands at approximately Rs 120 crore, Akshay's fee is nearly 42% of the entire film's cost.
Remaining cast salary
The report further stated that Tabu also took a pay cut of 16%. She is rumoured to have charged Rs 2.5 crore, as compared to Rs 3 crore for Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha. The report noted that Akshay's Rs 50 crore salary is still 20 times Tabu's Rs 2.5 crore salary. Infact, Wamiqa is also speculated to have taken home more money than veteran actor Paresh Rawal. While Wamiqa charged Rs 3 crore, Rawal got Rs 2 crore. Jisshu Sengupta received Rs 1 crore and Rajpal Yadav got anywhere between Rs 1-1.5 crore, the Koimoi report claimed.
About Bhooth Bangla
The film follows Akshay Kumar, a man who inherits a palace in rural Mangalpur. When he plans his sister's wedding there, strange supernatural events begin to occur, leaving locals panicked. He is forced to investigate the property's mysterious past that unravels secrets and lore.
Akshay and Priyadarshan have previously worked together on films like Hera Pheri, Garam Masala, Bhagam Bhag, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, De Dana Dan and Khatta Meetha.
