High-profile Bollywood divorces frequently involve multi-crore alimony figures, making them headline-grabbing events far beyond the scale of typical divorces.
These numbers are so staggering that fans believe if most of this money were put into making films, Bollywood actors would never run out of business.
One of the most significant divorces in the industry has to be that of Hrithik Roshan and Sussanne Khan. The couple decided to get divorced in 2014 after being married for 14 years.
According to industry insiders, Sussanne reportedly received Rs 380 crore as alimony after getting separated from Hrithik. However, both of them denied these reports, and their lawyers claimed that the couple had settled their divorce with no alimony involved.
Fans of Malaika Arora and Arbaaz Khan were also left shocked when the couple announced their separation in 2017, with reports claiming that Malaika received between Rs 10 and 15 crores.
Filmmakers Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao also finalized their divorce in 2021 after 16 years of marriage, but they continue to co-parent their son Azad and collaborate on films.
While the exact details of their financial settlements aren’t clear, sources suggest that Kiran potentially got around Rs 50 crore as alimony.
The divorce drama isn’t just limited to Bollywood stars; many Indian cricketers also came into the limelight after their spouses demanded heavy settlements following their divorce.
Cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal and his wife, Dhanashree Verma, were also trending on social media after Yuzvendra reportedly had to pay Dhanashree an alimony of Rs 4.75 crore.
The Calcutta High Court had also ordered cricketer Mohammed Shami to pay his estranged wife, Hasin Jahan, and their daughter a monthly alimony of Rs 4 lakh. Rs 1.5 lakh for Hasin and 2.5 lakh for their daughter.
According to insider reports, Hasin had initially demanded ₹7 lakh for herself and ₹3 lakh for their daughter, but after Shami appealed to a higher court, the number was brought down.
While in most of these cases the wife ends up getting the alimony, it isn’t always so. In Shweta Tiwari’s case, the actress reportedly gave her ex-husband Raja Chaudhary a one-bedroom flat in Malad, valued at Rs 93 lakh, as part of their divorce settlement.
In a recent interview, one of the industry’s top divorce lawyers, Vandana Shah, revealed the reason behind high-profile spouses receiving such high settlements.
According to Vandana, today India houses a lot of billionaires and millionaires, and the number of divorces among them is also increasing.
She recalls that the divorce settlements in the industry can go as high as Rs 400-500 crores if the couple is famous or well-to-do.
Divorce alimony is decided by the courts owing to the nature of the lifestyle the couple had before the divorce and how much the spouse would require to sustain themselves after the divorce.
As of today, most high-profile couples reportedly don’t get married so that they don’t have to pay hefty settlements if the relationship ends up failing after a few months.
