Taapsee Pannu says pay for women often less than 1/4th of that for men, calls it 'insane'

Should male and female actors be paid equally, or should ir remuneration be decided on how many footfalls y can bring to atres? discussion over pay disparity has come to limelight in recent years. Taapsee Pannu has been among female actors who has t vouched for blanket equality. She has been honest to state that she does t deserve to be paid as much as Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar or Varun Dhawan, for that matter, since she wouldn’t bring that many audiences to screens as much as m. While fact that men in B-Town get paid more than women is well-kwn, Taapsee’s revelation of extent of this disparity is surprising.  Pink star says that at times, female actors get paid less than one-fourth of what leading men command. She even said that half of salary of a male superstar can easily be used to make a female-driven starring a popular female actor. 32-year-old hoped to see a drastic change in this disparity, something she feels is only possible if people walk in to watch female actors-led movies in big numbers. 

READ: Taapsee Pannu Gives A Befitting Reply To A Man Who Asked Her To Talk In Hindi At IFFI

Taapsee during an interaction at International Film Festival of Goa said  reumneration for women in industry was "t even half of what leading men get paid." She added, "It is way less than one-fourth at times - to be honest, even less. Half of salary of leading hero is entire budget of a female-driven film of an A-list actress... We have a long way to go. It is insane.” 

READ: 'It Was Claustrophobic To Play Amrita In Thappad': Taapsee Pannu

actor is, however, hopeful. "I hope it changes in my lifetime. That can happen when more and more people walk into a female-driven film in atres. Only box-office can change this. Yes, women-driven films have increased drastically over last four to five years but big difference will happen when (box-office) numbers come in. re is or way," she said. 

READ: Taapsee Pannu Says 'I Didn't Use South Film Industry As Stepping Stone To Bollywood'

On-screen sister too had highlighted it 

Meanwhile, on professional front, Taapsee Pannu is currently enjoying positive response to Saand Ki Aankh. movie was praised almost unanimously by critics. Incidentally, her co-star, Bhumi Pednekar, who played her sister, one half of world-class elderly sharpshooters, Chandro Sisters, had also recently revealed that she was paid only 5 per cent of what her male co-star had earned on a film. 

READ: Saand Ki Aankh: Box Office Collection Of Taapsee-Bhumi Starrer