Speaking to the media at the 50th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, Taapsee Pannu said that “half the salary” of the leading hero in a typical film is equal to the “entire budget of a female-driven film of an A-list actress”.
According to IANS, the Pink actress said, ”It is way less than one-fourth at times—to be honest, even less. Half of the salary of the leading hero is the entire budget of a female-driven film of an A-list actress...we have a long way to go. It is insane.”
Taapsee added that she hoped that this would change in her lifetime. “That can happen when more and more people walk into a female-driven film in theatres. Only box-office can change this. Yes, women-driven films have increased drastically over the last four to five years but the big difference will happen when the [box-office[] numbers come in. There is no other way.”
During the interaction, a member of the audience asked her to speak in Hindi since she does Hindi films, to which she replied in Hindi, adding that she also worked in the South Indian film industry.
Taapsee had made her debut in the Telugu film Jhummandi Naadam in 2010.
She is best known for her work in Pink (2016), Badla (2019) and most recently as a space scientist in Mission Mangal (2019).
