MUMBAI: Discussions around pay disparity in the entertainment industry has always been a topic of interest. It has been long debated and deliberated that why do male actors get paid better as compared to their female counterparts. 

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However, in an interview sometime back, actor Raveena Tandon made heads turn when she made a groundbreaking statement, opposite to the prevailing narrative of unequal pay for women.

Stating that female protagonists get paid more in the TV industry, and even OTT is slowly getting there, the actor had said, “In the TV industry today, women are paid much higher than their male counterparts, which is a great thing because of the kind of work they do and I think in our TV industry, women rule. In OTT platforms too, the protagonists are mostly women, women issues are discussed.”

Some prominent names from the small screen and digital medium talk on the issue of pay disparity and share their experiences, if any.

1. Amol Parashar

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In showbiz, there is no fixed pay scale or pay grade. An actor’s fee is negotiated on the value they bring to a project via their skill and brand value. As much as we’d like to believe that it should be based more on the former, it’s mostly the latter — the belief that a certain person will bring in the audiences and eyeballs to the project. If my co-star is more famous than me (according to the producers), they’ll definitely be paid more, and vice versa. Since this value is subjective, it’s prone to biases and inaccuracies. No two actors will be paid equally in a project irrespective of gender unless they negotiate together, which is a rare occurrence. That is how this business works.

2. Maanvi Gagroo

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In the OTT industry, I don’t think female leads are paid equally or more than their male counterparts, unless she is a significantly bigger star. The pay disparity scenario has changed from what it used to be around 10 years ago, but I don’t think there’s been a significant blanket change across the industry. Also, it differs from one project to another. There are times when I get paid more, and sometimes my co-actors are paid more. And, the inequality is not just about the actor’s fee, but also things like hotel, vanity van, flight, etc that differ from actor to actor.

3. Divyendu

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It is nice if pay parity is happening. In TV, now and always, especially when the whole Ekta Kapoor era started, females came on the forefront. Since then, they’ve been getting paid more, because they play the leading roles. It’s a commercial business and at the end of the day, whoever is in the driver’s seat, will get paid more. Gender isn’t really the deciding factor here. Whoever can attract more viewers would have a higher price. It is a very clear business funda. Whoever is controlling the market will control the price. Personally, I haven’t faced any such unequal pay situation in my career so far.

4. Aahana Kumra

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I don’t think that female protagonists get paid more or equally in the OTT industry. Maybe it happened to Raveena Tandon (who starred in web show Aranyak) because she’s already a star. Everybody comes from a different background. When you come from a star background, you come with that whole mindset that, ‘Oh, I’m already a star in Hindi films and I’m coming on OTT, so this is the price I’m going to get’. I don’t think that happens with other actors. Where I am right now, I don’t think I am still being equally paid. I don’t know about television, because I have never worked on that medium.

5. Amit Sadh

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The television industry has provided a fertile ground for female protagonists to shine and to be the centre of the show. TV has given them a chance to get the same respect and recognition as their male counterparts. In fact, I agree that OTT platforms have also disrupted the traditional power dynamics of the Indian industry film industry. There is no doubt that we’ll be creating a level playing field for women to showcase their talent and creativity.

6. Erica Fernandes

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The television and OTT industries have been a game-changer for female artistes. In most cases, female actors on TV do get paid equally, or more, than men. This is a positive step towards gender equality in the entertainment industry as it shows that women are being valued for their work and talent. However, it is also important to remember that sometimes, people are often paid according to their experience and worth. It is not always a reflection of how hard one person worked compared to another. This is not the case for everyone and pay inequality is still a major issue in many industries. It is important to recognise and address this problem if we want to create a more equitable society.

7. Nakuul Mehta

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TV industry is primarily a female fronted medium, where actors, producers, directors, almost every artiste is a woman. I don’t think there is a pay disparity as per gender, but it all depends on who is adding more value to any show. Personally, I’ve never cared to know my fellow co-star’s fee in any project, so I don’t get bothered by such things. Time has surely taken a reverse turn as women are far more valued now and are being paid better than what they were getting earlier. If not more, female protagonists do get equally paid as their male counterparts. In the time of pay disparity in mainstream cinema since years, the television industry is definitely paving the way for women to get equally valued and paid for their hardworking.

8. Karan Tacker

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I come from television, and whoever is leading the show gets paid more. If you’re putting in equal time and services for the show, gender doesn’t matter. I’ve never really had a scenario where someone as experienced as me or vice versa, is getting paid less. How I look at this is very simple. Whoever is bringing the most amount of eyeballs to the product that you’re doing, should get paid in accordance with that. If its a female or male, it doesn’t matter. I look at it in terms of, ‘who’s running the show?’ I’ve never been in a situation where someone’s gotten paid more than me or there’s been a problem where I’ve been paid more than someone. In the projects that I’ve been in, pretty much everyone gets paid accordingly and they seem to be happy about it.

9. Ridhi Dogra

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The way the acting profession is, not one single project will be similar to the other because of the people attached to it. I’ve experienced the difference in storytelling, as we’re seeing a lot of stories being told for women in OTT. The characters for women on TV and OTT are so empowering. But in terms of pay parity, I do feel that OTT still has a long way to go. But with TV, it is definitely true that women are paid equally or even more than their male counterparts. I’ve worked in both OTT and TV, so I can say for both the industries. If you’re headlining a project, and you’re the biggest star, then automatically you will be paid more. And, talent is unfortunately not respected as much in our industry as marketing is.

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10. Kavita Kaushik

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It’s true that women are paid equally or more in the TV industry and I know it because I started my career with small screen. Had I not been on television, I don’t know if I’d have enjoyed the same kind of success that I did with a FIR. I don’t think unless I was someone’s kid, I would have been given a role like Chandramukhi Chautala in movies. In films, lesser performance oriented roles are given to women. I’ve done TV for 20 years of my career, and women are always considered important script wise. I was paid a bomb during my tenure of FIR. And not just on FIR, but I think I was the highest paid actor on TV at that time. Women do make way more money on television and the web. I’ve never done any mainstream Hindi film, and whatever has been offered to me, they offered peanuts, like almost no money. In my head, I’ve always calculated what I’ve gotten paid for on TV.

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Credits - Hindustan Times