Trust the ever-shrewd, straight-talking Aamir Khan to put an issue, that most pussy-foot around, into stark perspective... During the promotions under way for his upcoming Secret Superstar, the actor was asked about the payment disparity that exists in Bollywood which evidently discriminates against women.

A touchy topic that most actors have preferred to avoid, but not Aamir. He started off admitting that the gender pay gap in Bollywood results from the patriarchal mindset of society, which does not see women as heroes. How the ladies would have loved him for that!

But wait, there was more… “Unfortunately, what has happened is that most of our stars are male. The people who draw the crowds are male and it is a result of the patriarchal influence on our society,” he explained.

Children are conditioned to look at men as heroes from a young age, he surmised, adding, “We don't see women as heroes. We start planting these thoughts in our heads since childhood. There has to be a paradigm shift in that. I am someone who strongly believes in equality, whether you are man or a woman,” he said.

Even as preparations were underway to crown him the Saviour of Staunch Feminism, he dropped the bomb… “Ultimately, in the economics of cinema, anyone who pulls people in will be paid higher. There is no question about it.”

At the end of the day, it is only money that talks and Aamir drove this point home minus any hesitation… “Anyone who has the ability to fill seats gets a bigger share in the fee. So, the day she (Zaira Wasim who has acted with him in both Dangal and Secret Superstar) will be able to fill more seats than me, I won't mind her getting a bigger paycheck than mine.”
Paychecks have no gender, pointed out Aamir, and are determined by the market. …And that fact, plainly delivered, takes a lot of the air out of demands for equal pay in the male-driven realm of Hindi films. Talk about unpalatable truths!