Karan Johar revealed in his book, An Unsuitable Boy, that his initial choice for Kal Ho Na was not Priety Zinta, but Kareena Kapoor Khan. Unfortunately, he had to say no to her because she demanded as much as her co-stars were charging. Now, we would think that it’s an old update and things have defs changed in Bollywood. Sadly, they haven’t. Recently, the actress received a lot of flak on social media for apparently demanding 12 crores for her role in Alaukik Desai’s upcoming movie, Ramayan. According to netizens, she should not have asked for a hefty amount for her work. Buzz also has it that Deepika Padukone was dropped from a major film because she was charging the same fees that her male co-star was getting. You see where we are heading with this, right? Power and pay disparity exists blatantly in Bollywood and over the years, several actresses have opened up about it. While we might think that times are changing and there are more women-centric movies being made in Bollywood, there’s another side to this topic as well.
During a recent interview with a leading daily, Huma Qureshi opened up about sexism in the entertainment industry. She revealed how actresses are constantly at war to prove their worth and nope, it’s not justified at all.
While talking about the gender pay gap in Bollywood, Huma said, “Regarding pay parity, I would definitely say that if a woman is asking for what she deserves, I think it is because she deserves it. That is her market thing and she deserves what she is asking for.” We totes agree. Recently, Anushka Sharma and Taapsee Pannu revealed that they make three to five times less than their male co-stars, who are of the same statures as them. All of this because they are ‘men.’ It’s high time that Bollywood realises that they have to say goodbye to their outdated norms and bring progressive reforms in the industry.
The actress further added that while an actor can entertain his audience by just being a ‘hero’, an actress has to prove her worth by doing women-centric movies. “My point is that a man doesn’t have to prove himself by doing a male-centric film, but sometimes a female has to prove it by doing a female-centric film and say that this is the audience that she has pulled in,” she said. It is a sad reality and we have the entire Bollywood to blame for it. The industry has often objectified women, used them as props and portrayed them as damsels in distress. To convince their viewers that they are way more than pretty faces, actresses often have to showcase their skillset in women-centric films. While we’re glad that we get to see these amazing movies, we wish that they get the same kind of great roles in mainstream cinema as well.
While talking about the change Huma wants to bring in the world as a woman, the actress shared that she wants people to be body-positive. “I want every girl in this world to love their body as it is. A woman is so much more beautiful and complex than just being judged by a number on a scale,” she said. Interestingly, her upcoming movie with Sonakshi Sinha, Double XL, will revolve around the same concept as well.
We’re sure that the movie is going to be amazing and Huma will leave us impressed as always.
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