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This list of 2015's highest paid Bollywood actors shows female stars earn less than men

This list of 2015's highest paid Bollywood actors shows female stars earn less than men

Gender-based wage gap? Salman and Shahrukh earn 40-45 crore, actresses Deepika and Priyanka fall short at 7-8 crore
Updated 26 Dec, 2015

A report in The Hindustan Times that compares Bollywood actors' earnings in 2015 has placed the three Khans — Salman, Shahrukh and Aamir — at the top spot, with each earning between INR 40-45 crore per film.

This doesn't come as a surprise, but what is rather shocking is the huge disparity between the estimated earnings of male stars versus female stars.

Also read: How wide is the gender-based wage gap in the Pakistani film industry?

While a rising male actor like Ranbir Kapoor is said to earn 20-25 crore per film, Anuskha Sharma, who starred in and produced surprise hit NH10, is said to earn only 6-8 crore per film.


"I don't know why the pay gap exists, but I think it's because it's in our society," said Anushka Sharma recently. "Boys are [seen as] more important."


Ajay Devgn, who starred in just one film this year (Drishyam, also starring Tabu) is said to have raked in anywhere between 35-40 crore for his performance. Ditto Akshay Kumar, whose films Baby, Gabbar Is Back, Brothers and Singh Is Bling placed him just a few crore shy of joining the Khans' earning bracket.

In stark contrast, 2015's stand-out actress Kangana Ranaut is said to earn just 10-12 crore per film. With hits like Tanu Weds Manu Returns under her belt, we're wondering why the discrepancy.

Likewise, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is said to earn between 5-7 crore per film.

But perhaps most surprising are the estimates for Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone, which place the actresses firmly in the 7-8 crore-per-film club.


With Priyanka making waves in Hollywood with TV series Quantico and Deepika stealing the show in Piku, we expected heftier remuneration for the actresses.


With Priyanka making waves in Hollywood with TV series Quantico and Deepika stealing the show in Piku, we expected heftier remuneration for the actresses.

Anushka Sharma has spoken up the issue; she recently joined a host of Hollywood celebs who raised their voices in 2015 to speak out against gender-based wage differentials in the entertainment industry.

Also read: 4 ways to navigate sexism in Bollywood, according to Anushka Sharma

"A male newcomer and female newcomer will get paid differently," said Sharma in an interview with Anupama Chopra. "You're a newcomer... no one knows who you are, man or woman doesn't matter. It's just assumed that men need more money. I think people think that men need to run a family and women are looked after. I'm not saying this out of greed — I'm just saying value me. At the end of the day, you want respect. And when you pay me less money, you're telling me I'm not as valuable."

"I don't know why [the pay gap exists], but I think it's because it's in our society," she continued. "Boys are [seen as] more important."

Pakistani actresses recently spoke out about the issue too. An an interview with Images, veteran actress Hina Bayat said: "Women are consistently paid less and made to feel that they don’t really need the money since they are not the primary bread earners of the family.”

Here's hoping that 2016 yields a more satisfying payday for women in entertainment — at home and abroad.

Comments

Sunil Dec 26, 2015 03:32pm
Priyanka Chopra demands for 8 crore per film now a days.
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Abu.Ashhad Dec 26, 2015 05:07pm
no one force female actresses to work on low wadge ... actually its all economics - demand & supply. In reality most of the films are male hero oriented roles and audience (both male & female) expected to see the khans, kapoors, kumars one or two projects in a year and secondly producers make them a brand. I feel even Indian female main actresses are casting mostly as support in the films like Kareena in "Talash" & 3 idiots, Anoshka in "PK" & her first film with SRK and the list goes on. and even film producers even do not cast A list actresses. My point audiences demand driven this wadge trend in the industry and everyone knows his or her value commercially.
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Arjun Dec 26, 2015 05:32pm
Hrithik roshan has charged 50 Cr for Mohenjo Daro.
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Trueman Dec 26, 2015 06:26pm
Same story in Hollywood also. It's not about our society.
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Akil Akhtar Dec 26, 2015 06:28pm
Film industry is not about equal opportunity or equal salary...it is about your market value. So the discussion is meaningless. How many films are successful because of these heroines..
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prince Dec 26, 2015 07:25pm
Rajnikant charging 100+ crores per movie!
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Saeed Masood Dec 26, 2015 07:30pm
The whole of Bollywood on one side Priyanka Chopra on the other...Priyanka will be heavy...look at her beauty, charm and grace...8 crore is peanuts for her...she is a born superstar...
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muddassar mahmood Dec 26, 2015 09:27pm
Most of the movies revolves around heroes how can you pay heroine equally with heroes.famous heroines give grace but the hero plot and charecter is the success of heroine.salman khan is the example who most of the time works with new heroine
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Karma Dec 26, 2015 10:28pm
..I feel some of female actors deserve at least 20-25 Crs.......and Rajnikanth is the highest paid actor in India..
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a Dec 26, 2015 11:16pm
@Saeed Masood You're just smitten. She's a very bad actor.
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Tamza Dec 27, 2015 10:21am
Dear Anushka: women stay fresh for a few years, based on looks usually. Men are mire experienced, and on them the film lives or dies. Most desi movies are like James Bond - you wouldnt expect the Bond-girl to make as much as Bond!!
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Atul Dec 27, 2015 11:07am
Nice cover picture...sulking priyanka and furious deepika, look at the other two. ranbir in teasing salman in mocking mode !
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yam0791 Dec 27, 2015 08:23pm
Who ever pulls the audiences should earn the money... Can Anushka/Priyanka pull the audiences like the Khans? No, they basically have support roles and are paid accordingly.
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Mushtaq Bilal Dec 27, 2015 10:35pm
Not that there is no gender-gap in Bollywood but this is a bit misleading. Actors like Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan usually produce the movies they star in. Or they do so by their proxies: Ghauri Khan in case of SRK and Sohail Khan in case of Salman Khan. So usually take a percentage of the total profit. Contrarily, heroines like Deepika and Katrina probably do not produce their movies and are paid a fee. But if they were to produce a movie things wouldn't be the way they are right now.
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FM Dec 27, 2015 11:10pm
Simply Bussiness. Nothing Else i.e option of 01 girl in 100 against 01 out of 10 in men. U can say simple maths or business competition
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Abhishek Dec 28, 2015 02:43am
This drama of "disparity" is utterly idiotic. There are many other male actors in the movies who are paid less than the female "star". The pay is NOT based on gender. It the simple old demand/supply market economics. More people you can pull, the more money the movie will make and the higher will be your share from the film budget. In "Mary Kom", Priyanka was paid much more than her male co-star. A film doesn't has only 2 actors. There are dozens of them in each film and each gets paid according to complex negotiations based on their brand value and equation with the producers etc.
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irfan Dec 28, 2015 02:20pm
Demand and supply rule. Public wants AK,SK etc more than beauties like Anushka, priyanka etc. If a woman is demanded more, she can surely bag few more crores.
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hassan Dec 29, 2015 10:49am
i think this is because a woman's career last around 10-15 years , while a man's career is about 25+ years. So the producers do not want to invest in short careers.
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Sanjay Dec 29, 2015 05:00pm
Akshay Kumar was the highest revenue grosser of the year 2015 from Bollywood.
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Adi Dec 30, 2015 04:28pm
Pakistani male actors get paid half or a third what Indian female actors get. This should be highlighted too.
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