Taapsee Pannu on pay disparity: “Audience ko bhi change mein contribute karna padega”

Although several actresses have discussed pay inequality in the past, Taapsee Pannu has a unique perspective on this form of wage discrimination. She discussed audience choices and how they must participate in the change if they want to see it while speaking to Bollywood Hungama. She stated: “Pay parity is not about producers not wanting to give money. So, stop blaming the industry only for this problem. It starts from the level where there are not many footfalls when it comes to female driven film. When it comes to a female driven film, people wait for reviews more than advance bookings. When it comes to a male driven film, the advance bookings are so high that the footfalls are collected within the first weekend itself, i.e. on Friday, Saturday, Sunday.”

She further added, “For a female driven film, we have to wait for a Monday because by then, there is ample word of mouth and reviews which give us a brief idea about the film. We have to undergo the review test whereas many male driven films end up opening big without any of these. So audiences too will have to contribute to this change, that’s when we can bring about the change we desire to see.”

“We are still in that situation where to have a big opener film, it has to be associated with a big hero presence or it has to have a big filmmaker backing you,” she concluded. In the upcoming film Shabaash Mithu, Taapsee Pannu will portray Indian player Mithali Raj and highlight the difficulties faced by female cricket aspirants.