We lose ourselves in their stories. Songs from the movies play loudly at every festival or private function around the country. Bollywood’s reach is far and beyond that of our borders, it transcends international boundaries. But amid the fantasies, the stories on reels and the adventures within, lies a deep dark mystery. The mystery of the pay divide. The one based on genders.
To simply put it, a "hero" and a "heroine" would probably undergo the same routine when shooting for the same movie. But do they get the same pay for “a job well done”?
Here are some looming truths.
The disparity in remuneration of actors and actresses remains a reality in the Hindi film industry despite the success of women-oriented films like ‘Queen’, ‘Mary Kom’ and ‘Bobby Jasoos’. While female-oriented movies have been doing extremely well at the box office, conventional films with top male stars in the lead are still the biggest earners. Top male stars, such as the three favourite Khans – Salman, Shah Rukh and Aamir – and action star Akshay Kumar, earn around 400m rupees (£4.3m) per film on average, plus a share of the profits, according to industry experts. A-list actresses such as Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif get paid a tenth of that per film!
Producer Pooja Bhatt said in an interview recently: “It’s an old mindset, a feudal system. There is a general perception that women don’t sell films — a fact that is gradually changing world over. I ensure that both my male and female actors get equal pay.”
When Boyhood (2014) actor Patricia Arquette made an impassioned plea for “wage equality once and for all,” at the Oscars earlier this year, she was supported by the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Meryl Streep. Now, as Forbes comes out with its list of World’s Highest Paid Actresses 2015, it reaffirms the thought Arquette was coming from, as the report also highlights the “pay gap” (between male and female stars). In Bollywood for instance, a female actor earns only one sixth of what a male actor does. The magazine also notes that “not a single Bollywood actress made it to the Highest-Paid Actresses list, but five Bollywood actors made it to the Highest-Paid Actors ranking”. However, even though the paycheques of Bollywood actresses don’t match up to their western counterparts, their pay has been improving.
Closer home, when Padukone signed a movie deal for 70m rupees in 2014, it generated buzz since it was one of the highest amounts paid to a female lead. Over the past couple of years, several women-centric films starring Kaif, Padukone and Ranaut as well as Priyanka Chopra and Vidya Balan have crossed the 1bn rupee gross earnings mark that is generally considered a hit in Bollywood.
Part of the change reflects the greater spending power of Indian women, who are joining the work force, earning more money and want to see movies starring women in stories they can relate to – not typical action or fantasy fare, where women are merely eye candy for male movie-goers.
As per reports, Deepika Padukone charges around Rs 7 crore per film while Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s remuneration is anywhere between Rs 5-6 crore. Similarly, while Priyanka Chopra makes Rs 3-3.5 crore per film, Kareena Kapoor Khan rakes in `3 crore. Although B-Town actresses earn much less than Hollywood actresses, who "can earn between $10 million to $20 million a film with the option to negotiate a share of the movie’s profits," according to Forbes, trade expert Amod Mehra says that over the past few years, the remuneration of Indian actresses have doubled. "An artiste’s fee is directly proportionate to the kinds of returns he/she gets [at the box office]. It’s still a male-dominated industry," he says, adding, "Except ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’, none of the other ‘heroine-centric’ films did great business in 2015."
Interestingly, Forbes also notes that “in Bollywood, a top male star might earn the equivalent of $4.7 million per movie, while prominent Indian actresses rarely receive one sixth of that – the equivalent of some $780,000”. Even director Zoya Akhtar echoes a similar stance. “The ratio is heavily skewed towards male actors, and needs to be balanced out.” However, several film-makers view the situation differently. Aanand L Rai says that “it’s pure business.” If an actor — male or female — is getting you the revenue, he or she should get paid accordingly. Are they able to pull the film off on their own? If yes, they should absolutely get paid (well).”
Female stars in India also tend to have shorter careers. The older they get, the fewer leading parts are written for them, while men draw starring vehicles even as they age. “The fees don’t go down for older male stars,” says Dina Dattani, independent business affairs and legal consultant in the media industry and former head of business and legal at Fox Star Studios India. “People continue to write starring roles for 73-year-old Amitabh Bachchan. There’s no comparable female equivalent.”
But whatever the perspective each one has, the pay divide is a matter to ponder and debate.
By Sukanya Mukherjee
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