Ajay Devgn earns ₹90 crore a season for Crime Patrol, yet isn’t India’s highest-paid TV host; this star made ₹250 crore
Bollywood's TV Hosting Paycheck Hierarchy Gets a New Entry — But Not the Top Spot
Indiadailyupdate.com – When a film star steps into a television studio to anchor a weekly show, the financial implications ripple through an entire industry. Ajay Devgn's recent entry into the world of Indian TV hosting has drawn exactly that kind of attention, though not for the reason most viewers might expect. The actor's reported compensation for a single season of Sony's true-crime franchise has placed him firmly among India's most expensive on-screen presenters — yet the figure still falls well short of the record held by a certain Bollywood veteran who has anchored a reality competition for more than a decade and a half.
The Crime Patrol Deal
Devgn was confirmed as the new face of Crime Patrol in August, with the franchise's latest installment debuting on August 31. The show, which has aired on Sony TV since its inception and streams simultaneously on SonyLIV, follows real criminal cases and unpacks them for a mass audience. Devgn's contract covers fifteen episodes of the newest season. The compensation attached to that arrangement — approximately ₹90 crore spread across the run — immediately positioned him as one of the costliest hosts working in Indian television today.
The figure is extraordinary by any standard. For context, most mid-tier reality or talk-show anchors in India earn anywhere from a few lakhs to perhaps two or three crore per episode. A ₹90-crore seasonal package places Devgn in a stratum of the market that only a handful of A-list film personalities occupy.
Salman Khan's Unmatched Bigg Boss Earnings
Yet the ₹90-crore number, while headline-grabbing, does not touch the ceiling of Indian TV hosting pay. That ceiling belongs to Salman Khan, whose long-running association with Bigg Boss has made him the country's most expensive television anchor for well over ten years. Khan took over the show's hosting duties more than fifteen seasons ago, initially commanding around ₹2.5 crore per episode. As the franchise's popularity surged through its mid-teens seasons, his weekly fee ballooned to roughly ₹15 crore. At the height of that era — seasons fifteen and sixteen — Khan would reportedly shoot an entire week's worth of Weekend Ka Vaar segments in a single marathon session and collect the full ₹15 crore for that week's output.
For an extended four-month season at that peak rate, the cumulative fee reached an estimated ₹250 crore. Even after Khan trimmed his weekly charge to approximately ₹10 crore for seasons eighteen and nineteen — and his season total consequently settled into the ₹130-to-150-crore range — no other Indian TV host has matched or exceeded his earnings. The gap between Khan's reduced figure and Devgn's ₹90 crore remains substantial.
The Broader Paycheck Landscape
Below the Khan tier, the hierarchy continues with Amitabh Bachchan, whose stewardship of Kaun Banega Crorepati routinely commands more than ₹100 crore per season. Industry estimates place his weekly hosting fee between ₹15 and ₹20 crore. With his Crime Patrol compensation, Devgn now occupies the third position on this informal leaderboard.
Among non-actor presenters, Karan Johar tops the list, having collected over ₹25 crore for the most recent season of Koffee With Karan. Rohit Shetty, a filmmaker and close friend of Devgn, follows with a reported ₹12-to-14-crore fee for the latest iteration of Khatron Ke Khiladi. Together, these figures illustrate how Indian television has become a parallel revenue stream for top-tier film personalities, one that can rival or even exceed theatrical box-office returns in certain years.
A Legacy Show Finds New Voice
Crime Patrol first aired in 2003 and has since cycled through multiple rebrands and format shifts, including Crime Patrol Satark, Crime Patrol Dastak, Crime Patrol Dial 100, and Crime Patrol 2.0. Actor Anup Soni became the franchise's most recognizable long-term host, anchoring several consecutive seasons. Over its two-decade run, the show has also featured presenters such as Sakshi Tanwar, Sonali Kulkarni, Divyanka Tripathi, Ashutosh Rana, Renuka Shahane, and Nakuul Mehta.
Devgn's arrival marks another chapter in that evolution. Speaking at the announcement, the actor framed his involvement in terms of public awareness rather than spectacle:
"The show has built a legacy of understanding crime stories while driving awareness among viewers, encouraging them to become more vigilant about the people around them and who they interact with and trust. As we bring to the forefront some of the stories inspired by cases that have shaken the nation, I hope and believe that I can help and guide audiences to navigate them with caution rather than fear."
What the Numbers Signal
The concentration of nine-figure seasonal fees in the hands of a handful of film stars underscores a structural shift in Indian media economics. Television networks, competing with streaming platforms for premium content and star power, have effectively turned hosting slots into high-value brand-ambassador roles. For a star like Devgn — whose filmography spans action, drama, and directorial work — a fifteen-episode TV commitment represents a comparatively contained schedule that nonetheless generates revenue on the scale of a major theatrical release. For the network, the star's name functions as both a ratings guarantee and a marketing asset that extends well beyond the broadcast window.
Whether Devgn's ₹90-crore season will be matched or exceeded in future renewals remains to be seen. What is clear is that the upper echelon of Indian TV hosting pay has become a small, tightly contested club, and each new entrant reshapes the financial expectations of everyone below.
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