Who makes the most moolah on TV?

Tellyland has big money. And if the pay packets are anything to go by, then the top TV actors will soon be competing with the Bollywood stars. But unlike Bollywood, the system here is not simple. While some actors are bound by exclusive contract to work for a particular production house, others are paid for the number of days that they work for. Among the men, it's Ronit Roy who is apparently the highest paid followed by Anuj Saxena and Rohit Roy.
According to sources, Ronit is paid a whopping Rs 15 lakh a month. And among the female actors it's Smriti Iraani who takes home around Rs 40-50,000 every day. The others to follow her are Saakshi Tanwar, Urvashi Dholakia and Sangeeta Ghosh. "These actors ask for anything between Rs 30 to 40,000 per day. And whether they get the amount they quote, also depends on the popularity of the character that they play. For example Urvashi is being paid around Rs 30 to 35,000 per day for playing Komolika in Kasautii Zindagii Kay," says a source.
TV actors are said to have a shorter shelf-life, so is it because of this that there's a drive to make more money which even means working round the clock? Actor Smriti Iraani says, "That's something that one has to decide. Whether one wants to be an actor or a star. The pay cheques are definitely better than what they used to be." Says producer Shristi Arya, "The money I paid Nigaar Z Khan when I launched her in my serial Lipstick about three years back and the amount I paid Priya Wal (Anveesha of Remix) now is vastly different."
Thankfully, for the producers they may not always have to bear the brunt of the rising pay cheques. "For example, in Jassi Jaisi koi Nahin Mona Singh was apparently paid a certain amount by the producers while the channel paid her a certain amount for her exclusive contract," says a source.
Money, of course, is the driving force for many actors who try to take up as much work as they can. However, this has not decreased the shelflife of an actor feel producers. Shristi says, "In fact, the shelf-life has increased as shows run for longer duration. The amount a producer pays an actor obviously depends on how desperately the producer wants the actor for his/her serial."

What actors make!
Smriti Iraani - 40-50,000 per day
Ronit Roy - Rs 15 lakh a month
Rohit Roy - 30-35,000 per day
Saakshi Tanvar - 30-35,000 per day
Anuj Saxena - 25-30,000 per day
Iqbal Khan - 20-30,000 per day
Eijaz Khan - 20-30,000 per day