Some time ago, things had gotten quite heated on Twitter as people had trended ‘Boycott Kareena Kapoor Khan’.
This was because rumours had gone rife that she had allegedly demanded 12 crores for Sita’s role in the Alaukik Desai directorial ‘Sita – The Incarnation’.
However, soon after, the film’s writer KV Vijayendra Prasad (of Baahubali fame) had emphatically DENIED that Kareena had ever been approached in the 1st place, labelling the reports as mere speculation.
Now, Thappad actress Taapsee Pannu too has given her two cents on the whole controversy. Questioning the sexism of the reaction – that only women are slammed for salary hikes, Taapsee said Kareena was well within her rights as a big superstar to demand hefty remuneration.
She told Bollywood Bubble – “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 market value has improved)’. Like that guy has really achieved big success in life. But because a woman is asking for it, she’s called ‘difficult’, ‘too demanding’. It’s always like that.”
She added – “You’ll always read about this issue of hiked salary with women. But why not? She is one of the biggest female superstars we have in the country. If she commands a certain salary for her time, it’s her job. Do you think any other mythological characters that are played by men, do you think they do it for free? I don’t think so. So it’s only when a woman hikes her salary, people call her ‘problematic’. Whereas, it’s a success barometer when it’s a man.”
What do you think of Taapsee’s stance on the wage disparity in Bollywood? Let us know in the comments below. On the work front, Taapsee is gearing up for Haseen Dillruba’s Netflix premiere on July 2.