Bhumi Pednekar Talks About Pay Disparity in Bollywood, Says 'It Was Also in West but Men Stood Up for Women'

2022 has been quite a year for Bhumi Pednekar as the actress was in the limelight for her three releases. She received critical acclaim for her work in Badhaai Do with Rajkummar Rao. She starred in Raksha Bandhan along with Akshay Kumar and was recently cast opposite Vicky Kaushal in Govinda Naam Mera. Even though the actress is getting some great work, she expresses her disappointment over pay disparity and how the producers want her to feel thankful.

Recently, Bhumi Pednekar was a part of the round table conference arranged by Bollywood Hungama. She joined other actresses like Alaya F, Rakul Preet Singh, Huma Qureshi and Tamannah Bhatia and discussed the issue of pay disparity. Tamannah opined that building a strong market for themselves is the only way ahead, while Rakul Preet commented that it will be a long journey to be paid equally. Bhumi opened up and said, “I could have as many Rs 100 or 200 crore films as my male costar. I may be appreciated for my work but it’s a norm that I will not be paid as close to what he is being paid”. She further added that the change has to happen from every aspect.

Bhumi Pednekar also pointed out that this disparity is also prevalent in the west. She said, “The disparity was also in the west but the men there stood up for women. They said either they will take a pay cut or get them the same remuneration. And while I don’t want anyone to stand up for me, there has to be empathy. One needs to acknowledge the issue.”

Huma Qureshi who was last seen in Monica O My Darling offered a different perspective regarding the pay gap. She said, “But we should also understand that the males have created a market over years. We cannot pitch 10 female films with the 100s they have.”

Bhumi Pednekar stated that as female actresses they had to find solace in the fact that they are getting good work. But she wonders why not the same money as the male stars. She said, “If the budget is 125 crore, the males get a good two-digit figure but then they want me to be thankful. You have come to me because I add a certain amount of credibility but they always make it sound like an opportunity.” To this Rakul Preet responded that it is because most of the actresses are replaceable.

Rakul Preet Singh was last seen in Thank God, co-starring Sidharth Malhotra and Ajay Devgn.

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