Yami Gautam says content-driven stories on OTT platforms are bridging gendered pay gap

OMG 2 star Yami on how the pay gap between male and female actors is reducing thanks to constant dialogue, and storytelling shift brought on by OTT

Yami Gautam’s OMG 2 has made over Rs 100 crore at the box office, reaffirming the actor’s faith in her choice of scripts. In the 11 years since she debuted in Bollywood with Vicky Donor (2012), she says much has changed in the industry. What about the needed change in the pay gap, we ask. It’s understandable that her OMG 2 co-star Kumar would take home a fatter paycheque, given his wealth of experience. 

But Gautam feels the pay gap is closing in among the current crop, with actors in the same experience bracket commanding similar fees, regardless of their gender. “The gap is way lower. The conversation around it has played a major role in the change. The dynamics have also shifted now because of OTT. Writing has become more balanced, so male and female parts are equally integral to a story. Now because of new-age stories, actresses have become aware that they too can pull audiences to theatres. I see that within my contemporaries. While we are not there yet, we are getting there. I see the pay gap becoming obsolete in the near future,” smiles the actor.

In the past few years, Gautam has moved towards story-driven films—be it Bala (2019), A Thursday (2022) or Lost. But she admits she too wants to work with the male superstars. “I’m getting more scripts where I’m headlining the project, but I hope the [male] actors are still willing to work with me. Think of Chaalbaaz [1989] and Seeta Aur Geeta [1972]. The female stars had the meatier roles, and the male actors—be it Dharmendra and Sanjeev Kumar, or Sunny Deol and Rajinikanth—chose to do those films. Will actors do it today? I am happy that we are asking these questions.”

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