‘There’s almost no one to offer it’: Tiruppur Subramaniam on Ajith’s big fee demand

3 min readHyderabadJun 17, 2026 05:26 PM IST

Ajith's remuneration demands for his next project have become a point of discussion among producers and financiers. (Photo: Ajith Kumar/ Instagram)

Tamil film financier and distributor Tiruppur Subramaniam has weighed in on the prolonged delay surrounding Ajith Kumar‘s next project, saying the actor’s salary demands have outpaced what most production houses in the industry are currently willing to risk.

“Ajith Kumar wants the salary he demands, but who is there in the industry to offer it? There’s almost no one, and we can’t do anything about it,” he said in an interview with Fine Time Cine, pointing to a shortage of big-investment studios in Tamil cinema as the real reason behind the standoff.

The comments add a financier’s perspective to a topic that has been simmering in Kollywood for over a year now. Despite the strong performance of his last release, Good Bad Ugly, no major Tamil production house has officially announced a new project with the actor.

Tiruppur Subramaniam explained why he believes the gap is structural rather than personal. “Big investment production companies have scaled down in Tamil cinema. Currently, only Red Giant Studios, AGS Entertainments, Sun Pictures and VELS Entertainments are there in Tamil cinema with a passion for cinema, but they don’t want to take such big risks and are ready for a profit-sharing model,” he said. That assessment lines up with several trade reports, which have noted that production houses are said to be willing to offer only around Rs 110 crore to Rs 120 crore against the actor’s higher asking price, a gap that has so far kept any deal from being finalised.

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On what he thinks Ajith should do instead, Subramaniam said, “He wants a fixed salary from the production; if not, he is already well-settled and interested in racing. He is earning well even through advertisements, but he should think about doing service to cinema and make films on a profit-sharing basis with production companies he likes. Then, we will at least get 2 to 3 big films from him in Tamil cinema,”

Ajith Kumar has been part of Tamil cinema since the early 90s and has appeared in more than 63 films over his career. Alongside acting, he has built a long-standing association with motorsport, competing as a racing driver in events in India and internationally, a pursuit Subramaniam referenced directly when explaining why the actor may not feel pressure to settle for a lower fee.

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With Vijay having stepped back from films to focus on politics, fans have been hoping Ajith would move quickly to fill that space in the industry, but the actor’s next project, tentatively called AK64, remains unannounced as the remuneration discussions continue.