dunno how far it is true .. :
Do women dominate regional TV industry?
Akash Wadhwa & Priyanka Dasgupta, TNN Mar 11, 2011, 12.25pm IST
In the women-dominated national TV industry, heroines take home fat paycheques, while their male counterparts have to settle for much less. Is it the same regionally?
Ever wondered how much an abla, besahara bahu would be getting to shed those copious glycerine tears on television? The answer is — thousands of bucks, daily. Forget the glass ceiling, TV actresses are not only getting their due but much more than their male counterparts can demand!
- Videocon D2HGet Free packages with every new HD connection. Buy now for Rs. 1690! VideoconD2H.com
- Business Hub of AsiaExpand your sight and explore Seoul for new business opportunities! Seoul.go.kr
"The TV industry is dominated by women, both, on and off-screen. And it's one of the most lucrative options for women today," opines Rajan Shahi, producer of shows like "Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai" , "Bidaai" and "Chand Chhupa Badal Mein" on Star Plus. Shahi has launched actresses like Sara Khan and Parul Chauhan, who are counted among the highest paid stars on television today. "If an actor is able to earn enough fame during her first show to fetch her a lead in another serial, she is bound to be in the league of high grossing stars," reasons Shahi.
Interestingly, since most TV serials in India are women-oriented, the male actors are paid much lesser than their female counterparts. However, the actors aren't perturbed by the gender bias. "Not everybody can be Ronit Roy!" says a popular lead actor on Zee TV, on conditions of anonymity. He further adds, "Although a male and a female lead, both start their career at the same pay package, the female lead's salary increases manifold if the serial becomes a hit, while the male lead only gets a small hike. Which is why male actors work extra hard to make their chemistry work with the female co-star , so that even the men are considered indispensable for the show."
Take for instance the cast of "Uttaran" on Colors. While Nandish Sandhu draws 20,000 per day for his role in the serial, the female leads — Rashmi Desai and Tina Dutta — are reportedly drawing approximately 60,000- 65,000 per day.
But Ekta Kapoor, the doyen of small screen, has found a way to keep the paycheques of the female leads in her serials, in check. "While other production houses sign newcomers at a miserably low pay package of 2,200- 5,000 per day, Ekta signs them for a minimum of 15k, but with a lock-in period of three years. So, there is usually no negotiation for a hike in her production house even if the heroine or the serial becomes immensely popular a few months from its launch," informs a producer. Case in point: Ankita Lokhande, who has a huge fan following for her role in "Pavitra Rishta" , but is getting only 15,000 to 20,000.
While Dolly Bindra was rumoured to be getting a cool 1 crore per episode, sources say the figure would be somewhere closer to 70,000. And that's still not any comparison to what Smriti Iraani aka Tulsi was commanding at the height of her career, when she earned 75,000 per shift! "We don't have heroines like Smriti Iraani on TV anymore, who will be paid so much. She was one of her kind. Iraani, who played Tulsi in "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" created history on TV with such an impressive pay package," says Saurabh Tiwari, fiction head, Imagine.
- Masterchef 2 RecipesLearn new dishes everyweek Ab Badlo India, Apne Khane Ka Andaz Starplus.startv.in/Masterchef
- Film / TV JobsFind employment in film and television broadcast production www.mandy.com
Cut to Kolkata and the scene here is slightly different. The budgets of serials are far less and, hence, one wouldn't expect the paycheques to be very high either. But yes, women have far more job opportunities on television than on the big screen. Says Ananya Chatterjee, who plays Subarnalata in the megaserial and is supposedly among the highest paid television female actors in regional tellydom, "Bengali television offers a lot of roles with substance for women. Unlike in movies, we have a lot of scope to experiment and do interesting characters. Age too isn't a barrier at all for women." Sources say Ananya gets at least 10,000 a day. Those like Gargi Roy Chowdhury and Indrani Halder are also quite highly paid in the television industry.
Of late, the local television industry is also following the trend of saas-bahu serials that revolve around kitchen politics. Says Swagata Mukherjee, who played Damini in "Durga" , "Nowadays, women play a lot of central characters in serials that fall in both the genres of literary adaptations and saas-bahu formats. Even women as vamps are in demand. Though I wouldn't know the remuneration of other actors, since women actors are in demand, I'd expect them to be pampered in terms of remuneration too." Sources say that even if 10,000 is a figure that few can quote in the industry, on an average female actors can expect anywhere between 4,500 and 5,000 per day.
