Barring Salman Khan no Indian star-actor has been paid as much as Vijay Sethupathi for his appearance on the Tamil version of Master Chef, thereby effectively bridging the pay-parity gulf between South Indian stars and their Bollywood counterparts.
A source close to the development informs that the money was the only criteria for Vijay Sethupathi to agree to host Master Chef. “Otherwise why would such a popular and busy screen actor with as many as 5-6 films on the floor, squeeze time out to do a television show. See, Vijay doesn’t do movies for money.Many times he lets go of his full remuneration to accommodate a challenging role. This(Master Chef) was his chance to make some money.”
The fee being offered to Vijay is apparently Rs 5 crores per episode. That apart,it requires only 5-6 hours shooting every week.
Speaking on Master Chef Vijay said to me, “As you know Master Chef is an international cooking franchise. They have their show in many countries in many different languages. I am hosting the Tamil version of Master Chef.I have been hosting another television show Namma Oru Hero for two years.This is a Tamil weekly show where I bring into the limelight unsung heroes , the workingclass soldiers, the doctors, nurses, school teachers…For me they are the real heroes.”