EXCLUSIVE: Taapsee Pannu does not blame only the industry for pay disparity; says, “Audience ko bhi change mein contribute karna padega”

With awards and accolades in her kitty, Taapsee Pannu will next be seen in yet another unconventional film. Breaking stereotypes and setting trends is what the actress aims at and needless to say, her films too contribute in sending out a similar message. In a candid interview with Bollywood Hungama, for the promotions of her film Shabaash Mithu, Taapsee Pannu spoke about challenges of being a professional working woman, gender discrimination, and most importantly pay disparity.

Although there are several actresses who have spoken about pay disparity in the past, Taapsee Pannu had a different outlook towards this remuneration discrimination. While speaking to Bollywood Hungama, she spoke about audience’s choices and how they too have to contribute to the change if they wish to see it. She said, “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.”

When asked about her successful films like Badla and Pink which garnered good numbers, the actress maintained that the rise in the popularity was an eventual curve with ample credit to word of mouth. She explained, “Again they were eventual numbers. All the films started off very average in number. And when I say average, at that time, even those numbers which approximately amounted to Rs. 4 to 5 crores was a huge thing for us. And then eventually with time, it reached the Rs. 80-90 crore mark. Obviously, the word mouth really helped us.”

“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.

Taapsee Pannu will next be seen as the Indian cricketer Mithali Raj in the latter’s biopic Shabaash Mithu that highlights the challenges of a woman aspiring to be on the Indian cricket team.

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Taapsee Pannu reveals the budget of Shabaash Mithu; compares it to an A-lister’s salary