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‘Earned only Rs 1.5 lakh in 23-year Bollywood career’: Chak De singer says he’s paid Rs 10K for iconic songs, fired if asked for fee

Singer Krishna Beura alleged that he was paid only Rs 10,000 for the hit songs in films such as Chak De! India. He said that singers are fired when they ask for money and often sing for free.

3 min readChennaiUpdated: Jan 26, 2026 11:08 AM IST

Shah Rukh Khan in a still from Chak De India.

Krishna Beura, the singer behind hit songs like Chak De India’s ‘Maula Mere Le Le Meri Jaan’ and Aashiq Banaya Aapne’s ‘Aap Ki Kashish’, recently opened up about the lack of a proper pay structure for singers in Bollywood. He alleged that he was paid only Rs 10,000 for the hit Chak De India song and received the same amount for other popular numbers as well. He further claimed that in several cases, he was not paid anything at all for recording songs.

Speaking to Hindi Rush, Krishna said, “There is no fee structure for singers in Bollywood. I say that singer should have minimum wages. Like if you are calling a singer and making him sit in the studio, at least you should pay him Rs 10,000, they don’t even pay Rs 10,000 to singers. For the song, ‘Aap Ki Kashish’, I was paid Rs 10,000. In that also, Rs 900 was cut as TDS. I was paid Rs 10,000 for Chak De India song ‘Maula Mere Lele Meri Jaan’ by Yash Raj Films. I was paid Rs 0 for ‘Soniyo O Soniyo’ song for film Raaz 2. I was paid Rs 0 for the song ‘Moko Kaha Dhunde Re Bande’ and no fee for ‘Mera Intkam Dekhegi’ song.”

He added, “In my 23 years career as a singer in the film industry, if I see what I have earned only from playback singing in films, it will be a big thing if I have Rs 1.5 lakh in this time. Private producers pay, the industry doesn’t pay because they think singers will earn from shows and concerts.”

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Krishna further alleged that music composers and big labels often replace singers if they ask for remuneration. “You can’t ask for money, because if you do, you won’t get work the next time. Now it doesn’t happen this way, some good people have come in the industry. Try and cut Rs 1,000 of Akshay Kumar. Will you dare to do that?,” he said.

He also claimed that only A-list singers earn substantial money from playback singing in Bollywood, adding that they can charge as high as Rs 3 crore for a single song. “Only A-listers earn money because composers think that they can sell the song easily to music company if an A-lister singer sings the song,” Krishna said.

He went on to add, “I can’t talk about their fees because every person charges according to them. Some take Rs 5 lakh, some take Rs 10 lakh, and some charge Rs 50 lakh and even charge Rs 3 crore to sing one song. It is all about demand once you have demand in the industry. You will get what you ask for.”

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When asked about royalties and whether singers benefit from them, Krishna said, “The royalty doesn’t reach singers. Singers don’t get anything at the end of the day. The only way singers can earn is shows.”

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