Shahid Kapoor was paid 25 Cr, though it is more of a Kriti Sanon film

Gender pay gap is truly a reality and a global phenomenon and Bollywood is no exception. According to reports, Shahid Kapoor, charged a hefty fee of Rs 25 crore for the sci-fi romantic comedy directed by Amit Joshi and Aradhana Sah, Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya.

Though Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya is more of a Kriti Sanon film and completely nailed the role of a humanoid robot named SIFRA (Super Intelligent Female Robot Automation, she was paid Rs 4 crore for the role. It was Kriti’s role that was most challenging.

In a recent exclusive interview with Firstpost’s Lachmi Deb Roy for ‘Not Just Bollywood’, Kriti Sanon said how gender pay gap is still a reality. She said, “It’s still there. It will take time to have a balance. There are a lot of things involved in it. It is not just the producers. It’s also how you pitch a film. Someone needs to take the risk of mounting the film on a woman’s shoulder at a certain scale. When you put it at a certain scale you might get a lot more audience than you generally get.

When you shoot a male centric film whether it is a Sooryavanshi or Animal, the way the mounting of the hero happens it’s like larger than life. It is something which is aspirational and draws in a lot of people. Gangubai Kathiawadi was one such film where I felt that after a while there was so much mounting of a woman actor in that scale. And it was really exciting to see. It did give the numbers – the hundred crore profit. But of course nothing justifies the amount of difference in the pay that is there in the industry.”

 However according to reports published in GQ, Kapoor’s remuneration for Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya seems to be less in comparison to his last movie, Bloody Daddy, an action thriller that was released directly on JioCinema in 2023.