Deepika Padukone is making waves in Bollywood by pushing for equality on film sets. From fair pay to reasonable working hours, she has stood her ground, reportedly walking out of Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s ‘Spirit’ and the sequel to ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ after the makers could not meet her demands. Now, veteran filmmaker Sudhir Mishra has voiced his support, saying that if an actress plays as important a role as a male co-star, she should be paid equally.
Sudhir Mishra highlights pay parity importance
On the ‘Cyrus Says’ YouTube channel, Sudhir Mishra spoke about pay parity in cinema and reflected on Kareena Kapoor’s pay for his film ‘Chameli’. He said, “She must have been paid more than Rahul Bose in the film, and she should have been. Parity means if the woman’s part is as good as the man’s, then she should get paid as much. If it’s better, she should get paid more.”Mishra went on to explain, “But it’s also got to do with the box office. One thing you have to understand is that in cinema, you don’t get paid, you get a share in the profits. In cinema, a star gets paid more because they bring in the box office.”
Filmmaker supports Deepika Padukone’s case
Sudhir Mishra highlighted Padukone as an actress whose star power equals many top male actors. He said, “If Deepika Padukone brings in the audience and is as big a star as any male actor, which I think she is, quite a big star, she should be paid that much. Just leave aside this gentleman called Shah Rukh Khan, who seems to never age. If Deepika is as big a star, she should be paid equally. In all the Bhansali films she did, she’s the main character. So I don’t see the problem. I think she should be paid equally, and it’s about time.”
Deepika Padukone on the work front
Padukone will next be seen in Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘King’, directed by Siddharth Anand. The film also stars Suhana Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Jaideep Ahlawat, Raghav Juyal, and Saurabh Shukla in key roles and is currently under production. Apart from ‘King’, she will also appear opposite Allu Arjun in ‘AA22 x A6’, directed by Atlee.
