At an appearance at the Jio MAMI Movie Mela 2019, Kareena Kapoor said that she has never walked out of a film due to pay disparity but hopes to get paid as much as her male co-stars. The actor was in conversation with Karan Johar and Alia Bhatt. When asked if she has ever walked out of a film because she was getting paid less, the actor said, “There were probably different reasons of walking out of films, but not because of this particular reason. I'd love to get paid as much as my male co-stars though.”
Kareena will be seen next opposite Akshay Kumar in Good Newwz, which is being produced by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions. When Karan said that one would assume Kareena and Akshay would've gotten paid equally, Kareena quipped, “Please pay me as much as you paid Akshay Kumar, I'll run out of MAMI!”
Karan further explained his views on pay disparity in Bollywood saying that sometimes people over simplified the matter without considering the various aspects that go in determining a star’s fee. He said,
“Many times, people make sweeping statements about it. I’m the first person who’ll always want to pay what is completely right and justified and valid. I’ve always done it. But I feel there’s a larger understanding of the budget versus the verticals that you sell on digital and satellite that are driven by different data.”Karan Johar, Filmmaker
“Sometimes the data of satellite and digital look at the history of the artiste, male or female I'm not specifying, and that determines a certain price factor and then they determine the final cost of what you pay,” he added.
Karan also said that there are many women who deserve much more money than the men and there are men who have earned their fee because of their talent and the work they have put in. He said,
“So, it’s very subjective and cannot be just put into one strong slot. While I’m all about equality, when it comes to love and paying people, but there are larger optics to look at where we have to.”Karan Johar
Good Newwz stars Kareena Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Diljit Dosanjh and Kriti Sanon. The family comedy releases on 27 December.
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