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Pay Disparity: Can actresses like Samantha, Nayanthara manage to break the mold of the massive pay gap?
Female actors have always been open about it and have demanded their rights. Kollywood superstar Nayanthara has somehow managed to break that mould, partially.
The gender pay gap has always been a topic of discussion in every profession but when it comes to the film industry, the issue becomes significantly serious. Even after decades, the pay gap between male and female actors continues. The fight is still on and the pay disparity still continues. Female actors have always been open about it and have demanded their rights. Kollywood superstar Nayanthara has somehow managed to break that mould, partially. Nayanthara charges between Rs 3 crore and Rs 5 crore for each film and with this, she has managed to stand tall and make a major shift in the pay disparity trend.
The pay is less compared to what male actors are being paid in the South cinema, but she has been able to command what she deserves. She has also walked out of the projects in the past as makers weren't ready to pay her the amount she demanded. During an interview with Vogue, the Nizhal actress opened up on the male-dominated industry and how she decides on a few things during the shooting of her films.
"Why should men have all the power all the time? The problem is that women don’t feel confident to be in a commanding role, to be able to say, this is what I want, and this is what I will do. It’s not a gender thing, ultimately—if I can listen to you, you should listen to me, too," Nayanthara stated in a throwback interview.
In many cases, women are more influential than men, and yet they are not treated equally. Actresses like Alia Bhatt in Raazi and Samantha Akkineni in 'The Family Man 2' and 'Super Deluxe', have managed to play some path-breaking roles and there is no stopping. Keerthy Suresh earned the National Film Award for her role as legendary Savitri in Mahanati. And the massive pay gap stills remains a question!
Anushka Shetty - The Devasena of Tollywood and South Cinema charges between Rs 2-3 crore per film. The stunner, with her film Bhaagamathi, changed the entire scenario of women-centric films. Bhaagamathi managed to earn Rs 50 crore worldwide - a rare feat set by a women-centric film then.
Rakul Preet Singh, Pooja Hegde, Sai Pallavi, Parvathy are among the other actresses who enjoy the top-league status. There are many reasons why male actors are being paid higher than female actors but the question of a wage gap between the two definitely exists.
In Bollywood, movies like Pink and Dangal focused on the importance and rights of women in society but were sold to the audience in the name of the lead actors.
During the lockdown, Shruti Haasan, in an interview with Times Of India was asked about how a few actors and technicians have agreed to take a pay cut. To this, she replied, "Someone who receives a lot of crores as remuneration could take a pay cut. Heroines do not get paid much. The pay disparity between male and female leads is so huge. It will take at least 20 years for that to change."
Aditi Rao Hydari a few years ago had put this point across saying, "I don’t really understand why we are paid less than male actors because we put equal efforts." "We deserve better pay, equal to what (male)actors get," she added.
What decides a star's salary? Screen presence? Fan following? Drop your thoughts in the comment section below.
Note: The figures and pay mentioned in the copy are approximate numbers.
