Pay disparity between male, female actors harsh reality: Aditi Rao Hydari

Aditi Rao Hydari says the disparity in remuneration of actors and actresses remains a reality in Hindi film industry despite the success of women-oriented films like 'Queen' and 'Bobby Jasoos'

Aditi Rao Hydari says the disparity in remuneration of actors and actresses remains a reality in Hindi film industry despite the success of women-oriented films like 'Queen' and 'Bobby Jasoos'.

Aditi Rao Hydari

"I don't really understand why we are paid less than the male actors because we put equal efforts and recent past has shown that actresses can deliver a hit film. We deserve better pay, equal to what actors get," Aditi told PTI in an interview.

Actresses like Priyanka Chopra, Vidya Balan and Katrina Kaif have been vocal about the issue. "Hats off to these ladies for speaking about it because I think we need to address this. I remember in a film of mine, though both my co-star and I were newcomers, he got far better paid than me. I was shocked and appalled. I actually asked him what different are you doing that you are getting better paid!," the 28-year-old actress said.

Aditi, who has been appreciated for her performances in 'Delhi 6' and 'Rockstar', said it is a refreshing change that more women-oriented films are being made and accepted by the audience. "Actresses are getting stronger roles but there is a long way to go before we can say things have improved substantially for female actors. The time is good for us in the industry because people are ready to experiment with subjects and write women-oriented scripts," Aditi said.

Aditi, who was last seen in Akshay Kumar-starrer 'Boss', said she enjoyed playing an eye-candy in a male-action film. "Playing this glamorous woman has its own fun and I think it's good sometimes to do nothing and be the eye-candy. I enjoyed it but creative satisfaction is in playing substantial roles where you have something to offer to the story," she said, adding she would like to be a part of big-budget masala films but people don't approach her with such scripts.

"There is a gap between both the sides (her and producer) but I am interested in being a part of such commercial pot-boilers. People think I will only do serious stuff but that's not true. I want to be a part of a 'Chennai Express' or a film where I am required to dance," said Aditi, who recently shot for an item song in Marathi film 'Ram Madhava', choreographed by dance master Saroj Khan. "It was proper dancing after years.

I loved it. I am a classically trained dancer and was happy to put my dancing shoes. We shot the song in six hours and it had kathak," Aditi said. The actress is a fan of Sanjay Leela Bhansali and wants him to direct her in a film which has lots of dance moves. "The ideal thing for me would be a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film that has dance because he does that kind of stuff so beautifully. I wish I could do 'Ram Leela'.

It had garba and the film was amazing," she said. The star will now be seen in a special appearance in Sonam Kapoor-starrer 'Khoobsurat' and will start shooting for Bejoy Nambiar's next starring megastar Amitabh Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar.

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