"If It Was A Man..?": Taapsee Pannu Shuts Down Attacks Against Kareena For Hiking Her Fee

Kareena Kapoor Sita Fee Controversy: Taapsee Pannu has defended Kareena Kapoor Khan after she was trolled online for reportedly hiking her fee to play Sita in Allu Arvind's Ramayana adaptation.

Pannu pointed out the sexism that only women face for hiking their salaries and if a man does the same it is viewed as "The Fruit Of His Labor." The 33-year-old actor added that Kareena Kapoor is well within her rights to demand a sturdy salary for a comparatively more incommodious shoot. Kareena was criticised online recently after it was reported that she asked for ₹12 crores to play Sita in a film.

In a recent interview with Bollywood Bubble, the actor explained, "If it would have been a man in that position, who would have asked for a particular amount, it would have been looked upon like, 'iski market badh gayi hai (his worth has improved)'.  But because a woman is asking for it, she's called 'difficult', 'too demanding'. It's always like that."

Adding up to it Pannu also questioned the deep-rooted sexism around the salary for the same art and dedication as she said that one will always read about the problem of hiked salary with women, but why can't one of the biggest female superstars we have in the country ask for a decent amount for her labour?  she questioned.

Bollywood Hungama had previously quoted a source as saying that Kareena Kapoor had hiked her fee from around ₹6-8 crore to ₹12 crores for her role as Sita in Ramayana adaptation, described as a re-illustrating of the Ramayana from Sita's perspective. The source also conveyed that the film would require  10 months of the actor's year. Incidentally, her husband Saif Ali Khan is portraying Lankesh in another film inspired by the Ramayana, Adipurush.

Meantime, Taapsee Pannu will soon be hitting Netflix screens this Friday with Haseen Dilruba, a mystery thriller directed by Vinil Mathew. The film also features  Vikrant Massey and Harshvardhan Rane.