Bhumi Pednekar says pay parity is a ‘long fight’

Actor revealed no request regarding pay cuts were made to her male co-stars in Bollywood

Bollywood actors have spoken up from time to time on the issue of pay disparity in the film industry. The latest star to weigh in on the subject is Bhumi Pednekar. According to her, the Covid-19 pandemic affected male and female actors differently. While women were expected to take a pay cut, no such request was made to her male co-stars, according to Hindustan Times.

In an interview, Bhumi talked about pay parity being a ‘long fight’. She also said that the imbalance ‘really troubles’ her. Speaking to journalist Puja Talwar, Bhumi said, “I feel like most people realised that the pandemic had hit them only when they had a female-led film that they were supporting. I have never heard of any producer going and telling a male co-star of mine, ‘Yaar, Covid ki wajah se aap pay cut le lo (please take a pay cut, keeping the Covid situation in mind)’. It doesn’t happen. But it’s expected from all of us women, which I feel is ridiculous.”

Bhumi’s latest outing Badhaai Do released last week. The film, directed by Harshavardhan Kulkarni, earned INR12.60 crore at the domestic box office in its first week. In a statement, Bhumi said that the love she has received from the audience for Badhaai Do has been overwhelming. “In the digital age, you get feedback in an instant because of social media and my phone hasn’t stopped buzzing due to all the lovely praise for the film and my performance from people who are getting moved by the subject of Badhaai Do. We wanted to highlight a reality that exists so that people can rally together and request for a necessary change to happen,” she mentioned. 

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