The Indian Film Industry, while prospering at the turn of every decade with extraordinary films, is subjected to certain inadequacies brewing within it. The most prevalent defect is the unequal remuneration given to leading female actors.
Many actresses have come out protesting the differences in their payment at workplace. Some of the finest female lead actors have blatantly expressed their views on the case.
Taapsee Pannu
Taapsee Pannu, a known actress in the South as well as Hindi Indian Film Industry, recently spoke on the issue. She insisted on the fact that actresses are more prone to be substituted in a film than the actors starring in the same film. She said, “I realized that the root cause of all these problems that you face as a female actor is because you are easily replaceable.” She continues, “eventually, everybody is replaceable and we’re going to walk through it, but the ease with which a female actor is replaced is very different from how directors and producers wait for years for a male actor or write scripts for them. If that changes, things will change.”
Sonam Kapoor
Sonam Kapoor, a National Award winner for ‘Neerja’, showed her concern for the wage gap in films on ‘Koffee with Karan’ (season 5). She states examples of herself and Kareena Kapoor on the talk show. She said, “it’s not fair… Why is it that Bebo (Kareena Kapoor) and I don’t get enough money than John and Varun? Don’t you think it’s time… Bebo has given Ki and Ka, I have done Neerja. Bebo has proved herself over and over again as someone who has had a brilliant run at films. She exclaimed, “I think, it’s about time as women, as actors, as artists that we get our due.”
Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone, today, being the highest paid actress in Bollywood recalls her earlier days in the film industry. Though she was paid more than her husband, Ranveer Singh, for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Padmaavat’, she stated to have refused films for being paid less than the male lead. The actress expressed, “I know my track record and what I’m worth. I know that his films haven’t been doing well as my films have been doing. It made absolutely no sense. I was okay to say no to that film based on one thing, as I thought it was unfair.”
Priyanka Chopra
The global icon has also faced gender disparity at workplace. She shared her distress in an interview. “I don’t like the fact that I get paid much less than the boys. I don’t like the fact that the disparity is so massive.”
Vidya Balan
Vidya Balan had described Bollywood as ‘male dominated’ and pointed out the difference in pay disparity. Speaking on the varying pay gap in the industry, she said she hoped for this stereotype to change.
