Top 10 Highest Paid And Richest South Indian Directors

Kollywood is a category of Indian cinema which is popularly known for producing films in Tamil language. Given the language, the movies of the cinema are also based on Tamil Nadu and its culture. Kodambakkam is the Tamil Film Industry hub, which is located in Chennai.

Tamil cinema is rapidly growing into a commercialized form of cinema, where these movies are gaining bigger openings and also introducing millions of new fans. Thanks to the art team behind these movies, Kollywood is on a journey of growth. Here is a list of some of the most popular, highest paid and richest directors of Kollywood in 2022.

10. Hari – 4 Crore

Hari is popular name of Indian Film Industry. He has delivered blockbuster hits like ‘Aaru’, ‘Singham’ and ‘Saamy’. Currently he is working on a project named ‘Singham II’. He hasn’t worked in Bollywood and doesn’t plan to, anytime soon. His movies are known for portraying racy action scenes. Most of his movie stories are based on the sets of a single city. His movies usually do great business on B and C centers. He has worked with the biggest names of Kollywood Industry with an average fees of 4 Crore each movie. He hasn’t directed any remakes. People love his movies for the raunchy and explicit action content which has become the soul of these art pieces.

9. K S Ravikumar – 4 Crore

Some of the blockbusters directed by Ravikumar include ‘Muthu’, ‘Nattamai’, ‘Padayappa’ and ‘Cheran Pandiyan’. Bollywood films like ‘Policegiri’, and ‘Kochadiyan’ are his creations. Both the films did a decent job at the box office. He is one of the most popular choices of Bollywood to direct Tamil films in Hindi film Industry with an average fees of 4 Crore each movie. He is a safe bet at box office and always manages to deliver a decent hit. He is a commercial director, who focuses on creating movies for entertainment. Rajnikanth and Kamal Hasan are amongst his go to actors.

8. Lingusamy – 4 Crore

He is amongst the best directors of the era. He has directed blockbusters like ‘Run’ and ‘Sandakozhi’. He is currently working as a script writer for a movie with actor Suriya. Bollywood has taken his works ‘Paiyaa’ and ‘Vettai’ to transform them into a traditional remake in Hindi cinema. He hasn’t adapted or made any Tamil remakes and wants to steer clear of this copying trend. He is known for directing action and family entertainers. He has given some great projects as a producer. He is known for giving a chance to fresh talent in his production house.

7. Gautham Menon – 4 Crore

Gauthum is a critically acclaimed director, who has won several awards for his work in Tamil Film Industry. He has also tried his hands in production; however he failed to see the same amount of success. Romance can be considered his forte. Some of his most popular works include ‘Kaakha Kaakha’, ‘Vaaranam Aayiram’ and ‘Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa’. He is currently working on a script for his favorite actor Suriya. He has also directed a Bilingual. Two of his Bollywood films failed miserably at the box office, keeping him limited to experiment for the Tamilian audience only.

6. Selvaraghavan – 4 Crore

He is amongst the most popular directors in Tamil Cinema. ‘Kadhal Kondein’ is one of the biggest blockbusters of his career. Currently he is working on a Tamil project named ‘Irandaam Ulagam’. He hasn’t entered Bollywood industry as of yet. He is also known from staying clear of making any movie remakes. He is a multi talented star who is also known for singing, song writing and script writing in some of his films. He charges an average fees of 4 Crore for a movie. He is loved and critically acclaimed director of the Tamil film industry. He is experimental in his direction and makes projects relating to unusual subjects.

5. Bala – 5 Crore

Bala is amongst the most promising directors of Kollywood, who has legacy of some of the best movies in Indian Cinema. Some of his popular work includes movies like ‘Avan Ivan’, ‘Sethu, Pithamagan’ and ‘Nandha’. Recently, he is working on a project which is title as ‘Paradesi’. He is an award winning director who is critically acclaimed and is known for bringing up the controversial aspects of life. He charges an average fees of 5 Crore for a movie. He is known for his strict working style and is considered as the hero who brought the new wave in the Tamil film industry.

4. K V Anand – 5 Crore

‘Ayan’ and ‘Ko’ are amongst the most popular hits directed by K V Anand. He has worked as a cinematographer in almost dozens of Bollywood films. He hasn’t worked in any remake project, and despises the idea of copying somebody else’s creativity. He has a 50 percent hit rate, which makes him one of the highest paid director in Kollywood. He is passionately in love with Suriya, the Tamil superstar holds a great friendship with him. He has won several cinematography awards for his work in Indian Cinema.

3. Mani Ratnam – 5 Crore

‘Kadal’ and ‘Reviving Lajjo’ (Hindi) are amongst the most recent releases by Mani. He is a well known director of Indian Cinema. Some of his blockbusters include movies like ‘Mouna Ragam’, ‘Agni Nakshatiram’, ‘Naayagan’, ‘Roja’ and ‘Alaipayuthey’. Some his Bollywood blockbuster hits include ‘Dil Se’, ‘Yuva’, ‘Raavan’ and ‘Guru’. He is against the concept of making remakes and hasn’t directed a single copied project yet. He is popular for adapting mythological themes into his films. He loves to repeat his actors. He has made movies relating to diverse genres and social themes.

2. A. R. Murugadoss – 12 Crore

AR Murugadoss is best known for his blockbuster hit ‘Ghajini’, which was directed by him in Kollywood as well as Bollywood, in which Aamir Khan played the lead. ‘Thuppakki’ is amongst the most loved film by this director. He is also an established producer. As a director he takes at least 12 crore for a movie and prefers to work with new faces in his every project. He is amongst the few Kollywood directors who has given 100 Crore hit films both in Hindi and Tamil to the Indian Cinema. Some of his other works include ‘Kaththi’, ‘Ramana’, ‘7m Arivu’ and ‘Dheena’.

1. Shankar – 15 Crore

He is amongst the most popular Kollywood directors, who are known for working on big budget movies. Some of his blockbuster works include ‘Mudhalvan’, ‘Sivaji’, ‘Gentleman’, ‘Indian’ and ‘Endhira’. His last work included the big budget film ‘I’. He has also made Tamil remakes of Bollywood films like ‘3 Idiots’, which was renamed as ‘Nanban’.
His movies are known for hitting high rates which are made in vigilante genre. He is known for repeating the actors in majority of his projects. He is an award winning producer and director. He is loved in south India for his romantic and thrilling movies, thus being the highest paid director of Kollywood.

Here is the list of some of most popular and highest paid directors of Kollywood. They are known for adding an unrealistic touch of action and entertainment doses in their films. They are well established directors of Indian Cinema who have also worked in Bollywood. Bollywood often gets all the attention by remaking their master movies, which goes unnoticed. Kollywood is slowly transforming into a significant part of Indian cinema, which is delivering great works to the audience.