Imran Khan rejected a gold iPhone for a hot shower; recalls when he was paid Rs 12 cr for a film: ‘Aamir Khan’s money is not coming to me’

Imran spoke candidly about how overnight fame after Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na left him confused about his worth. “When my first film released and became a hit, I went from being paid almost nothing to being paid multiple crores. At 25, suddenly you’re being paid Rs 7-10 crore,” he said. The jump felt illogical to him, especially since his earlier films hadn’t reflected any drastic improvement in his acting. He recalled being paid just Rs 5 lakh for Kidnap because the makers initially didn’t even want him. “By the time Jaane Tu released, I had already done three films. I suddenly thought to myself, ‘did my acting grow so much from my previous film?'”

Imran Khan and Kareena Kapoor in Ek Mai Aur Ek Tu. (Photo: Imran Khan/ Instagram)

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Imran Khan rejected a gold iPhone for a hot shower

He also shared a telling anecdote from a promotional trip to Dubai. He shared that he was offered a gold iPhone for the opening of a jewellery store, but he rejected it. “This one time I was in Dubai for a promotional event. I kept on doing interviews the whole time. By evening, I was extremely tired. And the next day, I am supposed to catch a flight to London. I was preparing to sleep is when my manager came to me and said, ‘Sir, in this mall there is an opening of a jewellery shop, if you will do the ribbon cutting ceremony, they will give you gold iPhone. I said, ‘No, thank you. You keep the gold iPhone, I need a hot shower, I want a drink and a good night sleep.” He recalled, adding that another, far richer actor happily attended the event to get the phone.

Imran revealed that the highest paycheque of his career was Rs 12 crore for a film he didn’t name. However, by the final schedule, he felt the money wasn’t worth the personal cost. “I remember thinking, ‘Take this Rs 12 crore and give me my six months of life back,’” he said.

Imran Khan and Deepika Padukone in Break Ke Baad. (Photo: Imran Khan/Instagram)

‘Not worked for 10 years, still not stressed about bills’

Reflecting on his current situation, Imran admitted that his net worth today is significantly lower than it was a decade ago. After stepping away from the industry, not working for nearly 10 years, and going through a divorce, his finances were split. “Even today, I am at a place where I haven’t worked for 10 years and I am still not stressed about paying my bills,” he said, pointing out the irony that people far wealthier than him still chase superficial perks.

He also recalled co-hosting the Filmfare Awards with Ranbir Kapoor, describing the grueling schedule that stretched from morning rehearsals to late-night performances. For all that work, he estimated they were paid around Rs 50 lakh.

“I don’t remember exactly, but speculatively I can say maybe around Rs 50 lakh. It’s not bad money. If you really consider a scale at which a leading actor earns in comparison to all other actors and all the other non-actors on set with all the recent films, there will come a moment where they will all sit and say ‘Hang on!’ They will then analyse the whole thing, and somewhere in the mathematics and algebra, they will say, ‘This is not making sense.’ It doesn’t make sense to pay one person so much.”

Speaking about current A-list actor fees, Imran was blunt. “If you’re an A-lister in theatrical films today, you’re not earning less than Rs 30 crore per film,” he said. “Anyone my age—Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor—I would be surprised if any of them are earning less than that.”

Imran Khan is planning to make a comeback in the movies with a film by Danish Aslam.