The highest fees amongst directors in Tamil industry is commanded by Shankar who reportedly makes Rs. 5 crore per movie. Next in line is Mani Ratnam for whom producers are willing to shell out up to Rs. 3 crores. Yet, Mani prefers to work only under his own banner and refuses external assignments. He is followed by Bala, Darani and Charan. Two others who are fast ascending in this list are Selvaraghavan and Vikraman. Vikraman is a favorite because he works on medium budget and disciplined to complete the projects on time. He is also currently busy in Telugu.