Pay parity is a rampant problem the world over. However, in India, it is most prominent in Bollywood where male heroes command a huge pay packet and A-listers even ask for a percentage in profits, but female actors are left high-and-dry when it comes to their remuneration. If they are working in a female-drive film then once again they have to take a pay cut to ensure that their film goes on the floors and finds backers. Talking about this situation, Taapsee Pannu recently said that it is the only issue she can complain about.
Talking about the pay disparity, Taapsee said that female stars don’t get equally paid as male stars. She said, “A hero’s salary is equal to an entire budget of a female-driven film. Usme bhi mujhe bola jata hai, aap thoda kam charge kar lona. Cost-cutting karenge kyunki yeh female-centric film hai, mainstream nahin. These things hurt a bit. If you are cast in a film where a woman has an equal part as the man, if not more, you don’t get a male A-lister who will be okay to share screen space with you. If women are cast as the protagonists in a film, the male actors who play their partners are never A-listers. On the contrary, girls are ready to play smaller parts opposite top male actors. These things bother me.”
Taapsee, who is gearing up for the release of her upcoming film Mission Mangal shares screen space with four other female leads namely-Vidya Balan, Sonakshi Sinha, Nithya Menen and Kirti Kulhari. The film also stars Akshay Kumar and Sharman Joshi. Directed by Jagan Shakti the film is slated to release on August 15.
(Source: TOI)
