I can stand up to it, but then I don’t get those roles: Sonam Kapoor On Gender-Based Pay Gap In Bollywood

Sonam Kapoor On Gender Pay Gap: Neerja actor Sonam Kapoor  recently opened up about the gender pay gap in the industry and how it can have an effect even on the actors. Kapoor revealed that many times she has lost the opportunity to bag roles because she demanded equal pay, but she can afford to let go of certain opportunities because she's "privileged".

Kapoor, who has always been brutally honest and bold with her words, made this statement during an interview with Mid-Day.

Kapoor said, “The pay gap is ridiculous. I can stand up to it, but then I don’t get those roles, and I’m okay with that. I can afford to do that." She claims to have realised that she has no right to "judge anybody". Read about when Sonam Kapoor revealed she was molested as a child here.

Her comments came shortly after actor Taapsee Pannu too expressed her disappointment with pay disparity in Bollywood. She claimed the male actors who started with her earn 3-5 times more than her. Speaking to The National Bulletin, Pannu said female actors who ask for more money are tagged "difficult" and "problematic" while a man asks more it’s a mark of his success. The gap, according to Pannu, keeps increasing as the actors go to the higher star category. Furthermore, she noted that the audience does not celebrate female actors as much as male actors. Pannu added that everyone hears that since it’s a female-driven film, the budget will have to be slashed and that’s because the female actors' returns are always unfair in comparison to the male stars. And, the audience is a big reason behind that, she noted.

Kapoor said, “The pay gap is ridiculous. I can stand up to it, but then I don’t get those roles, and I’m okay with that. I can afford to do that."

Kapoor was last seen in 2019's The Zoya Factor. She made a cameo in AK vs AK, in which she played a version of herself, alongside her father Anil Kapoor and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap. The actor has been shooting for her next film Blind in Scotland. The movie is helmed by Sujoy Ghosh.