Veteran actor Mushtaq Khan has opened up about the pay parity in Bollywood. The actor revealed that he was paid less than what Akshay Kumar’s staff were paid for the film Welcome. Khan also recalled how he travelled economy and was allotted the same hotel as Akshay Kumar’s staff. However, the actor said that times are changing and most of the director want to end the vast disparity between actors.
On the Digital Commentary podcast, Khan was asked about his thoughts on receiving significantly lower pay than Akshay in the film Welcome. The actor said, “My payment might have been lesser than Akshay Kumar’s staff in the film. Unfortunately our films spend a lot of money on ‘stars’. We go everywhere on our own, we travel in economy and stay in the hotels provided by the makers. In Dubai, the hotel I was allotted, was the same hotel in which Akshay’s staff was staying. This happens a lot in big films.”
He added, “But a lot of filmmakers want to end this disparity. I am doing a film titled Stree 2 and I get a lot of love and they take care of everyone. We have a lot of fun together. I recently did Railway Men and I had a lot of fun. The production guys gave a lot of respect. The new generation of production people and even actors are doing very well.” Welcome was helmed by Anees Bazmee and was released in 2007. The film also starred Katrina Kaif, Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor among others.
Many actresses in Bollywood have been speaking out about the gender pay gap, calling for equal pay for equal work. Priyanka Chopra, who has been in Bollywood since 2001, recently revealed that her Prime Video series Citadel was the first time she is being paid the same as her male counterparts.
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