Keerthy joins Rs 1 crore pay club?

With pretty actress Keerthy Suresh reportedly demanding Rs 1.25 crore for a film with a new director, the national award winning actress joins the elite list of top-rung actresses who are drawing more Rs 1 crore plus pay in T-town. "Keerthy Suresh liked the script from a new director but wanted a hefty pay cheque," says an industry source.

Invariably, she joins B-town hotties Pooja Hegde and Kiara Advani, who are pocketing Rs 1.25 per film. While Keerthy Suresh carved a niche for herself with films like 'Mahanati' and doing solo heroine movies like 'Miss India' and 'Good Luck Sakhi,' Pooja Hegde and Kiara Advani scored blockbusters with superstars like Mahesh Babu, Allu Arjun, "Usually, glam divas demand double their fee for a woman-centric film, so nothing surprising about Keerthy Suresh charging a bomb but the producer is yet to give her an advance amout," the source adds.

Although it took three to four years for actresses like Kajal, Rakul Preet Singh, Tamannaah and Shruti Haasan to touch the magic figure of Rs 1 crore remuneration in T-town, the new-age stars are pushing the envelope.

"Keerthy has become the sought-after actress for author-backed roles these days. She has also expanded her base to Tamil and Malayalam movies, so are pay hike is logical and justified," says producer Bandla Ganesh.