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Join UsThe debate on pay disparity in Bollywood is not new to us. With male leads being paid way more than the female lead, the dynamic has been the same for the longest time. Not that actresses are paid any less now but not as much as the men. Amongst the many Bollywood divas, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Taapsee Pannu, Shabana Azmi have spoken about the topic and talked about the pay disparity quite often.
Recently, at the opening of the MAMI Film Festival 2019, Kareena Kapoor was asked about the disparity and the actress spoke candidly about it. Kareena Kapoor Khan while talking about the issue said, “Pay me as much as Akshay Kumar.” Now, actress Shabana Azmi, Dia Mirza and Taapsee Pannu have opened up about the same and below is all you need to know.
According to a report in Masala, Taapsee Pannu who is gearing up for her Diwali release Saand Ki Aankh added to this discussion. Taapsee said “Lately, I am happy with the money I am getting. The producers have been fair to me and have mindfully agreed to the raise I asked for lately. Pay parity is a problem, I agree with that fact. But it’s not like if we raise the issue the producers will agree and increase our remuneration.”
“It’s the audience who needs to help us with that. I never push for pay parity, I always say it’s the audiences who need to help us bridge the gap and only they can do that. I can only ask for more. After all, it’s business eventually and we need money to make more films,” she added
Veteran actress Shabana Azmi, who has been vocal about the issue since a long time, is a looked after actress of her times. Having seen many years in the industry the actress putting forward her point said, “At the cost of sounding renegade I think that is the main consideration. When a female star brings in audiences she will be paid equally. As more and more women-centric films become commercial successes it will happen. However, raising awareness on the issue in protest is a good way to start so producers start paying heed to this demand. The assumption that audiences are less interested in women-centric films must be contested. On the contrary action, films are less likely to be patronized by a female audience has been tested to be true.”
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Adding to the list was also Dia Mirza, who said, “All gloves don’t and won’t fit the same hand. Questioning pay parity for actresses who have garnered big audience draw is totally justifiable. Because this does happen. There are female actors who have massive audience draw, they do not get paid as much as male actors. There have been a few exceptions though. But the larger question is not of what stars draw. But what the rest do. And why must women be paid less than men for the same job?”
Though there are actresses who are changing the tide including Deepika Padukone who got paid more than Ranveer Singh for Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Padmaavat but the way to a wider change will take time.
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