Pay disparity in Bollywood has long been a topic of discussion, with actors and filmmakers frequently debating the gap between the earnings of male and female stars.
Recently, Saif Ali Khan spoke about pay disparity on a podcast hosted by his sister Soha Ali Khan on her YouTube channel. Actor Kunal Kemmu also joined the discussion, where both spoke about how and why pay remunerations differ in the industry and in society.
Saif Ali Khan mentioned that he believes stars who can pull crowds to theatres deserve to be paid more for their box-office draw.
Saif Ali Khan on pay parity
In the podcast episode, Saif Ali Khan and Kunal Kemmu spoke about the ongoing debate around pay disparity in the film industry.
Khan explained that an actor’s fee is largely influenced by box-office performance and audience demand rather than gender.
Saif mentioned that actors who are at the same level deserve to be paid equally. However, he acknowledged that the industry’s pay structure is largely influenced by a star’s ability to pull audiences to theatres.
He said, “If the actors are of equal stature, they should be paid the same amount. But I also feel the economics work in a certain way. If you are putting people in seats in the theatre, you get paid accordingly. Everyone understands that relationship.”
Saif added, “It’s not like just because you are a certain gender you deserve to be paid more or less. It’s actually a very balanced economic system where people are clear that this person is a superstar because they are filling theatres. They know their worth, charge that price and get paid.”
Kunal Kemmu also weighed in on the conversation, explaining the “maths” behind how actors’ remunerations are determined in the industry. He noted that distributors often estimate a film’s recovery prospects based on the star power attached to a project.
He said, “There is a maths to it. This is the mathematical part, not whether a film will work or not — that’s a different thing. Earlier, distributors knew that if I have this actor, I can sell a territory for a certain amount of money, and that becomes part of the recovery.”
Work front
On the work front, Saif will next be seen in Netflix’s period drama Hum Hindustani. The film, helmed by Rahul Dholakia, also stars Pratik Gandhi.
He will also appear in Priyadarshan’s Haiwaan alongside Akshay Kumar.
Kunal Kemmu was last seen in Single Papa.
