It was recently announced that Kangana Ranaut is being paid Rs. 24 crore for the upcoming biopic on late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, making her the highest paid female actor in India at the moment, as well as the highest paid Bollywood star to work in a South-based project. The veracity of the signing amount came into doubt when director Vijay allegedly told an online publication that the reports were ‘fake news’. Another publication cited a source claiming that Kangana was being paid only Rs. 12 crore for the project.

Responding to the rumours, producer Vishnu Vardhan Induri said in a statement that the details of the contract cannot be disclosed at the moment, but added that Kangana deserves the remuneration being offered. He also mentioned that Vijay has not spoken to anyone about the payment.

“Kangana deserves every bit of remuneration she is getting. We are very happy to have her in our team. The details can’t be disclosed as it’s a matter between the talent and the producer. No one else is authorised to talk about it,” Vishnu said.

Directed by Vijay, the Jayalalithaa biopic will be released in Tamil as Thalaivi and in Hindi as Jaya. The film is expected to go on floors in September this year. Kangana Ranaut was last in seen in Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi. Her upcoming Bollywood projects include Mental Hai Kya and Panga.