Bollywood is synonymous to Indian culture. Joined by cricket, they form the pillars of Indian society in terms of popularity. Cinema is a massive part of a person’s entertainment budget in India. As per Forbes, in 2016, well over 2 billion movie tickets were sold in India, placing the country as the leading film market in the world. This means that, on average, each Indian watched two movies in the year. And I am talking about every single person you ever see. This highlights just how popular cinema in India is.
The Indian film industry is known all over the world for its vibrant sets, colourful cinematography, and energetic dance moves. But for quite some time now, it has also been the flag-bearer of sexism and gender inequality. Bollywood reflects the patriarchal society we Indians live in. Women are frequently reduced to objects of attraction and supporting characters who serve as the romantic sidekick of the lead actor—the man. Most mainstream movies also carry at least one ‘item song’. It’s one of the ingredients of the ‘success recipe’ for a Bollywood movie. These songs have ‘item’ girls who sing and dance to catch the attention of the audience, especially because of their intentionally seductive dance moves and revealing costumes.
The Gender Pay Gap Is Huge!
Other than being seen as nothing but objects of attraction, Bollywood actresses also find themselves severely fiscally mistreated. Priyanka Chopra, one of the leading actresses of Bollywood, summed up the plight of women in Bollywood perfectly. In an interview for Glamour magazine, she said, “I was told that female actors are replaceable in films because they just stand behind a guy anyway. I’m still used to being paid—like most actresses are around the world—a lot less than the boys.”
According to industry reports, top male actors earn around 40 crores per film, plus a share of the profits. Meanwhile, A-list actresses are paid a tenth of that amount per film. This considerable gender pay gap has baffled an abundant amount of Bollywood actresses who have voiced their sentiments. “I don’t understand why we are paid less than the male actors because we put equal efforts,” actress Aditi Rao Hydari said in an interview with PTI. There have been cases when actresses have retaliated against this monetary injustice. The results, though, have been rarely fruitful.
Karan Johar, perhaps the most prominent filmmaker in Bollywood, gleefully narrated the anecdote of how he dropped Kareena Kapoor from “Kal Ho Na Ho” for asking for as much money as Shah Rukh Khan. It is incredibly saddening that women have to face financial and career losses to avail equal rights and opportunities. Kareena Kapoor’s role went to Preity Zinta, who instead got to play the culturally iconic character, Naina Catherine Kapur, in the most profitable Bollywood film of 2003. I wonder if Naina would have accepted lesser pay at her workplace!
Perhaps the reason actresses don’t earn as much as their male counterparts are due to the lack of women-centric films in Bollywood.
According to the financial portal MoneyControl, out of about 2000 films churned out in 2017, only 12 revolved around a female lead. Women-centric film, to this day, is considered a risky business move. Even though movies headlined by women, for example, Kangana Ranaut’s “Queen”, Vidya Balan’s “The Dirty Picture”, Priyanka Chopra’s “Mary Kom”, Deepika Padukone’s “Piku”, and Alia Bhatt’s “Raazi”, have all crossed the 100 crore gross earnings mark, it is still a commonly held belief that women-centric films can’t be as commercially successful as men-led films.
Bollywood is one of the most powerful tools of influence amongst the Indian masses. They must take their responsibility more seriously. They have to start representing and portraying women as strong, powerful, smart, and able. ‘Women are attractive’, people say, but they are so much more! Bollywood filmmakers, directors, and scriptwriters need to realise that what future generation watch will play an inevitable role in the development of their mindsets. Bollywood movies should represent an image of India’s hope for its future—progressive, liberal, accepting, and free of inequalities and biases.
A woman can hope!
The author is a student of the High School Achievers Program conducted by Young Leaders for Active Citizenship (YLAC). The High School Achievers program identifies promising high-schoolers and builds their capacity to lead change. This post was published as a part of the 2019 Delhi edition of the program. The views expressed in this post are solely those of the authors and do not represent the views of YLAC as an organisation.