Ameesha Patel on pay parity: "Film is selling because of heroes, so they ‘deserve’ higher pay"
Ameesha Patel said she would never demand equal pay instead, the actress wants "comfort" on the sets.
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Many female actors, both in the Indian film industry and Hollywood, are fighting for equal pay as their male co-stars for equal hard work they are putting in. However, actor Ameesha Patel’s opinion on pay parity is somewhat controversial. She believes that male actors ‘deserve’ to get higher pay.
Ameesha, who is busy promoting for Gadar 2, spoke to Bollywood Hungama recently and said pay parity doesn’t exist in Bollywood and female actors won’t ever get the same pay as their male counterparts. But, she is fine with it. She said she is not ‘hypocritical’ and is not a ‘female fighter’ to ask for equal pay.
"Pay parity doesn’t exist in Bollywood and it never will. It doesn’t even exist in Hollywood also. To be very honest, a film does ride on a hero’s shoulders. Why are we running away from that? I can say I want the same pay as my male co-star, but the truth is, the film is selling because of the hero, so he deserves it," Ameesha said.
Instead of equal pay, the Kaho Na Pyaar Hai star wants ‘comfort’ on the sets. She added, “Give me as much comfort as my male co-star because we work in as harsh environmental conditions. I want to perform my best. It is harder environmentally for us (women). In snow-clad mountains, we have to be in chiffon sarees when heroes are in their winter gear.”
To support her point, Ameesha also said that solo hero films have the capacity to do better than many female-oriented films.
She concluded, "I will never say I want the same pay as Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Sunny Deol or Akshay Kumar. The audience is coming for them. Yes, we do add a considerable amount in a significant role if we deliver but how many female-oriented films have done those kinds of box office numbers that even a solo hero film can do? So, why should we fool ourselves?"
Gadar 2, also starring Sunny Deol, will be out in the theaters on August 11. The film will face a clash with Akshay Kumar’s OMG 2.