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‘Comes From the Idea That Women Are Replaceable’: Huma Qureshi on B’Wood Pay Gap

Huma Qureshi also talked about why she doesn't read comments about herself on social media.

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In a recent interview, actor Huma Qureshi addressed the unfair trolling actor Deepika Padukone received after her and Ranveer Singh's appearance on Koffee With Karan 8. She said, “Ab kya bol sakte hai, (what can we say) ridiculous…We are supposed to present a kind of palatable…I guess, something they are expecting. I don’t know what it is, I don’t think anyone knows what it is.”

During the episode, the actor couple had discussed the early days of their relationship and the former had talked about 'casually dating' other people before deciding to marry Ranveer Singh.

“We are in a trolling culture. Black pehna hai to troll karo, black nahi pehna hai to troll karo. (If someone is wearing black, troll, if someone is not wearing black, troll them) You know what I mean…” Qureshi added during her appearance on the AfterHours with All About Eve podcast. 

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Qureshi went on to say that she doesn’t read comments about herself, “I don’t even read it. I have no patience for it, I have nothing for it. Why should I waste 15 minutes of my life reading some loser’s deconstruction of my life choices? I am really not interested. But I feel that people who do that come from a place of being unhappy. So, I feel bad for them.”

On the podcast, the actor also addressed the pay disparity in Bollywood. When asked if screen time plays a role in how much an actor makes for a role, Qureshi said, “The conventional way is: the bigger the star, the more money they take home, oftentimes, even when their screen time is shorter and their roles are smaller.”

However, she proceeded to say that female actors are still at a disadvantage even if they bring star power to the film, “Unfortunately, in our films, women are often not paid as much as men are even if they’re at the same level of stardom. There is a bias that a male actor needs to be paid more because the film’s story is always revolving around the male protagonist. It is quite unfortunate.”

“In a film, if two actors are playing my parents, the guy playing my father will probably get paid a little more than the female actor playing the role of my mother. The mentality is ‘Yeh toh aise hi chalta aa raha hai (This is how it has been for a while)’ and comes from the idea that women are replaceable. They think ‘koi na koi heroine toh mil hi jaegi (We’ll easily find another female actor)’.”
Huma Qureshi, Actor 
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On the work front, Qureshi was last seen in Monica, O My Darling and Tarla. The actor, on Tuesday, shared that she had started filming for the second season of Mithya. Her Instagram caption read, “And it begins …. #Mithya Season 2 @roseaudiovisuals @applausesocial @zee5 #love #actorslife Thank you for the the love I get for #Juhi Wish us luck for season 2 of this very loved show.”

She also has Maharani season 3 and Pooja Meri Jaan in the pipeline.

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