Tejasswi Prakash says no to big-money ‘very big film’: “Don’t want to be used for views”

Tejasswi Prakash, who has won audiences' hearts with shows like Swaragini, Bigg Boss 15, Naagin 6 and Psycho Saiyaan amongst others, recently opened up about pay disparity in the industry. In an interview with News18, Tejasswi shared how she has often rejected lucrative film offers because she values meaningful work.

Speaking about pay disparity, the actress stated that she hasn't faced it so far in her career, "I’ve not faced pay disparity. Mere saath nahi hua. If I felt I was being paid lesser than my male co-actors just because I’m a woman, I would voice it out. But I don’t think I was ever underpaid due to my gender. There are so many shows where I’m being paid better than my male counterparts. To be honest, in almost all of my projects, I’ve been paid more than them."

She further added that when she works with senior actors, any difference is never because of gender. “I can’t compare my pay with someone who’s super senior to me. That would be silly. If a male actor has done a lot of work over the years, he’ll surely be paid more. But that’s because of seniority and not because they’re men," she said.

Tejasswi Prakash added that she has often turned down high-paying offers and instead chosen roles with strong female characters. She added that she is not running after attention and doesn’t want filmmakers to use her just for publicity. She said, “I want meaty roles but the scripts that are offered to me don’t have a strong female role, largely. And that’s why I’ve said no many times."

She further shared, “A great title with some great actors, directors, production houses and platforms attached to it are great on your resume but they don’t let you do a lot in them. But when it finally releases, I don’t want my viewers to say that I’m hardly doing anything in it. A lot of times, they want you in it for the views. But I don’t want that. I don’t want to be used like that."

Tejasswi Prakash is currently seen in Laughter Chefs season 3 where she features alongside Arjun Bijlani as his cooking partner.