How much was Akshay Kumar paid for his first film?

Today Akshay Kumar is one of the highest-paid actors in Bollywood. With massive hits to his name, the Khiladi of Bollywood has won million hearts around the world. In an interview with Mid-Day, the star opens up about his journey in the film industry, and it's quite interesting! The actor who was making a living with small modelling assignments said his first pay cheque was of Rs5,000 when he was signed by filmmaker Pramod Chakravorty for three films together.
Akshay recalls how that one day changed his life. "I woke up one morning to start my workout, not realising I had missed my flight to Bangalore where I was to reach for a modelling assignment. I assumed the flight was at 6.00pm instead of 6.00am. The [modelling] agency guy blasted me over how unprofessional I was and said I will never succeed in life," Akshay said.
Akshay felt very low as he missed the modelling assignment. "I was talking to my mother, who said, as every mother says in their own language, 'Puttar koi baat bahi. Jo honda hai, Rab theek karta hai' (Whatever happens, happens for the good)."
That same day his visiting cards arrived from the printing press and he decided to go to the Natraj studio. "So, I went to Natraj studio that day. At that time, we used to travel with such big photographs, in a huge album. So, filmmaker Pramod Chakravorty's company's makeup man took that album inside the office. I was called in," Akshay said.
Akshay added, "Much to my surprise, he gave me my first cheque, signed me up for three films immediately. Right away. He gave me a cheque of Rs5,000, for the first film, Rs50,000, for the second film, and the third cheque had Rs1.5 lakh on it. The exact time he gave me those cheques was 6 o'clock in the evening. It would have been a disaster if I would have gone to Bangalore. Today, I would be a retired model somewhere. So yes, whatever happens, is for the good."