It doesn't pay to be a Bollywood heroine

It doesn't pay to be a Bollywood heroine

MUMBAI: Paycheques may well be getting plumper for Bollywood stars. But here's a rather unpalatable truth: the hefty hikes are reserved for the men, while the leading ladies are still very distant poor cousins.

Bollywood's heroes get a remuneration that's virtually ten times a heroine's. So if a Kareena Kapoor aims for Rs 5.5 crore for her next three films, Akshay Kumar has already gone past a whopping Rs 17 crore a film.

Supporting actors Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav get about a crore each, but Don girl Priyanka Chopra only recently managed a Rs 2 crore deal.

Madhuri Dixit-Nene may be aiming to rewrite Bollywood's rulebook with her comeback as the only mommy superstar, but the fact is that the box-office is almost cold to Aaja Nachle , and Madhuri's cheque for the film is nothing to crow about. Ditto with Aishwarya Rai's Umrao Jaan , which was a dud at the box office.

Contrast this with the business realities of Hollywood, where Nicole Kidman and Julia Roberts command almost as much as their male counterparts. If a Tom Cruise gets $45 million for a film, Kidman is not far behind at $35 million. If Brad Pitt gets $29 million, Angelina Jolie earns $27 million.

In India, such parity looks impossible for now.

"The primary reason for the low remuneration of female stars is that films do not sell on their name, however big they may be," says a trade source.

sexist!!so stupid they should get paided similar amount to the men

In real world, men do get paid more money than women even if they are doing the same job

Originally posted by: veryuniquestyle

In real world, men do get paid more money than women even if they are doing the same job

Don't they have employment laws against this in India?

It surely does not happen here in the UK, because employers have the fear of being sued😉

I think the main thing is that their is not a set fee/wage for acting in a film since the amount is set by the actor themselves

Originally posted by: Punjabi_chic

Don't they have employment laws against this in India?

It surely does not happen here in the UK, because employers have the fear of being sued😉

I think the main thing is that their is not a set fee/wage for acting in a film since the amount is set by the actor themselves

That is true lol though women may get paided slightly less but thats for a variety of reason such as they go to have kids so not in as higher posts for eg...

Yeh film stars set their own fees plus they always say bollywood is a men based industry maybe thats one reason

Even in the US its the same in most fields. Women get paid less. Strange thing is that women work harder than men. After their jobs at the office, they come home and do another job of housewife, mommy and children's tutor.

Originally posted by: nightingale

Even in the US its the same in most fields. Women get paid less. Strange thing is that women work harder than men. After their jobs at the office, they come home and do another job of housewife, mommy and children's tutor.

exactly, it's not just india, it's the USA too

Oh no...its sad to learn that women r lesspaid than men ...y? ...in my country both men n women r based on same salary scale for the same jobs...do u mean for film industry its different or on the whole?...plse thnsk