I am proud to be a Hindi film heroine: Priyanka

Actor talks women-centric films and the contribution of women to Bollywood.

MUMBAI: Actor Priyanka Chopra, who has been part of hits like Fashion, Barfi and Dostana, said a female actor’s fee may not be on par with her male counterpart, but she is hopeful that their remuneration will soon get better.

When asked why there is disparity when it comes to sharing profits with female actors despite them making a sizeable contribution to a film’s success, Priyanka replied, “I don’t think the contribution is as much. I think you have to give credit to the boys also.”

“The films make about Rs20 — 30 billion, and it has a lot to do with the boys. We (female actors) haven’t made that dent into the box office as much as the boys have, and I am very hopeful that it will now happen, because we have the kind of audience which is ready to watch women-oriented films. Yes, there is a huge disparity in terms of remuneration, but there is also a big disparity in the kind of money that has been brought back by female actors so far. I am hoping we will soon be able to break that and maybe then the remunerations will get better,” said Priyanka.

The actor, who attended the 15th edition of FICCI Frames 2014, was in conversation with Nidhi Razdan on women-centric films being made in showbiz. No One Killed Jessica, Kahaani, The Dirty Picture and Queen are some of the recent women-centric films that have done brisk business at the box office.

In her decade long career, the actor maintained a balance between parallel and commercial films and she has no qualms about being a Hindi film heroine. She said, “I am proud to be a Hindi film heroine. I am unapologetic about it. I love Hindi cinema, I love the blockbusters, but at the same time I also enjoy doing films like Barfi and Fashion.”

The actor, who is also into singing, feels that women are good at multi-tasking. “I have realised that women are good at multi-tasking and we do it really well. I was raised with music and I wanted to push myself and see what I can do. I am taking baby steps,” said the 31- year-old.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 17^th, 2014.

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