Male actors deserve more: Ameesha Patel on pay parity
For a while now, a lot of leading female actors from Bollywood and Hollywood have been speaking in favor of equal pay, compared to their male counterparts. But now, Gadar 2 actor Ameesha Patel has opened up on pay parity saying it can never exist in Bollywood, and that the male actors deserve to get higher pay cheques.
Why does this story matter?
Many leading ladies of Bollywood including the likes of Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Deepika Padukone, Kangana Ranaut, Sonam Kapoor Ajuha, and others have spoken about the gender pay gap prevalent in Hindi cinema, asserting why parity is important in the industry. Chopra Jonas, earlier in March, revealed that she got pay parity for the first time in 22 years with Citadel.
'Film is selling because of hero, so he deserves it'
Talking to Bollywood Hungama, Patel explained why she thinks parity can't exist in Bollywood/Hollywood. "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," she said.
Instead of parity, Patel wants equal comfort
She added that instead of parity, she'd want to have equal comfort as that of male actors. "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."
'Why should we fool ourselves?'
She further explained, "I'll never say I want the same pay as Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Sunny Deol, or Akshay Kumar." "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? Why should we fool ourselves?"
Patel believes her relationship with Vikram Bhatt affected her career
In the same interview, Patel opened up about her past relationships with Vikram Bhatt and Kanav Puri. She was asked if her relationship with Bhatt had an impact on her career, to which she said, "The relationships that I had...both were public. Those were the only ones I ever had and wasn't involved with anyone else. They took a beating on my career."
