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 their remuneration be decided on how many footfalls they can bring to the theatres? The discussion over pay disparity has come to the limelight in recent years. Taapsee Pannu has been among the female actors who has not vouched for blanket equality. She has been honest to state that she does not 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 them. While the fact that the men in B-Town get paid more than the women is well-known, Taapsee’s revelation of the extent of this disparity is surprising. The Pink star says that at times, the female actors get paid less than one-fourth of what the leading men command. She even said that half of the salary of a male superstar can easily be used to make a female-driven starring a popular female actor. The 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 the International Film Festival of Goa said the reumneration for women in the industry was "not even half of what the leading men get paid." She added, "It is way less than one-fourth at times - to be honest, even less. Half of the salary of the leading hero is the 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

The 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 theatres. Only box-office can change this. Yes, women-driven films have increased drastically over the last four to five years but the big difference will happen when the (box-office) numbers come in. There is no other 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 the professional front, Taapsee Pannu is currently enjoying the positive response to Saand Ki Aankh. The movie was praised almost unanimously by the critics. Incidentally, her co-star, Bhumi Pednekar, who played her sister, one half of the 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: The Box Office Collection Of The Taapsee-Bhumi Starrer