‘Film Industry Alone Shouldn’t Be Blamed for This’: Taapsee Pannu on Pay-Parity

Taapsee also shared how female-centric films in Bollywood have to undergo a 'review-test'.

Taapsee Pannu

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Actor Tapsee Pannu who will soon be seen in her upcoming film Shabaash Mithu, opened up about the pay-parity in Bollywood, in one of her recent interviews. The actor spoke about how film industry, alone, shouldn't be held responsible for this disparity. She added that, the audience waits for 'good reviews' before watching female-driven films, whereas, male-driven movies receive a lot of 'advanced bookings.'

Highlighting the difference between female and male-driven films in Bollywood, the actor told Bollywood Hungama, "For a female-driven film, we have to wait for a Monday because by then, there is ample word of mouth and reviews which give us a brief idea about the film. We have to undergo the review test whereas many male-driven films end up opening big without any of these. So audiences too will have to contribute to this change, that’s when we can bring about the change we desire to see."

Taapsee also said that, there are not many footfalls for female-centric films in Bollywood. "When it comes to a female-driven film, people wait for reviews more than advance bookings. When it comes to a male-driven film, the advance bookings are so high that the footfalls are collected within the first weekend itself, i.e. on Friday, Saturday, Sunday."

Talking about the blame, film industry receives for this disparity, the Naam Shabana actor said that pay parity is not about producers unwilling to give money. And, people should stop blaming the industry alone for this problem. "For a female-driven film, we have to wait for a Monday because by then, there is ample word of mouth and reviews which give us a brief idea about the film. We have to undergo the review test whereas many male-driven films end up opening big without any of these. So audiences too will have to contribute to this change, that’s when we can bring about the change we desire to see" she added, in her interview.

Speaking of her upcoming film Shabaash Mithu, which is based on the life of former cricketer Mithali Raj, the actor said, "This is my biggest budget film as a protagonist but still the budget of my entire film is equivalent to the budget of an A-lister’s salary.”

Besides Shabash Mithu, which is slated to release on 15 July, the actor has several other upcoming films in the pipeline, including Anurag Kashyap's Dobaaraa alongside Pavail Gulati, which is an Indian rendition of Oriol Paulo's Spanish-language film Mirage.