Kriti Sanon criticizes Bollywood’s gender pay gap, says producers fear investing: 'Female-led films don’t make as much money as male-led films'

Kriti Sanon recently openly addressed the persistent problem of gender pay inequality in Bollywood. She emphasized the entertainment industry’s enduring hesitation to offer equal pay to male and female actors and challenged the logic behind differing salaries when the responsibilities and efforts are identical.


Confusion over lack of pay parity

Speaking to News18, Kriti said that considering all the other industries, she doesn’t understand why pay parity is not there. She believes that for certain kinds of roles and jobs, whether one is male or female, it shouldn’t matter, and the pay should be the same. She acknowledged that in films, this conversation has been ongoing for a very long time and admitted that it affects them more than anyone else.



Budget disparities between male and female-led films

She added that even if a film is led by a woman, it is not typically budgeted on the same scale as a film led by a man. This, she explained, is because producers are afraid they won’t recover as much money. She described it as a cycle where female-led films don’t earn as much as male-led films, which then leads to the justification that his fees are higher or her fees are lower.


Optimism about changing attitudes

The actress remains hopeful despite the obstacles, observing that the industry’s mindset is gradually changing. She pointed out that films focused on strong content are starting to gain prominence, no matter if the lead roles are played by men or women.


Highlighting the success of female-led films

Referring to the success of the women-led movie ‘Crew’, she highlighted how important it is for female-led films to be fun and have big budgets. She encouraged producers to focus on strong stories when taking risks, rather than the gender of the lead actors. The 2024 film featured Kriti along with Tabu and Kareena Kapoor.


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