Fatima Sana Shaikh: Bollywood Safer After MeToo, Pay Is Math
Fatima Sana Shaikh on why MeToo made Bollywood safer and why pay parity is a 'very mathematical approach' producers need to revise now.
Fatima Sana Shaikh has weighed in on two Bollywood conversations that never quite go quiet: how safe the industry is for women, and why male and female stars are still paid so differently. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, the Hunkkaar: The Roar actor said the #MeToo movement made the work environment safer, and that pay disparity is really a box-office equation producers are clinging to.
Bollywood after MeToo: “as safe as any other industry”
Asked whether the film business is safe, Fatima offered a comparison rather than a blanket yes. “100% it is as safe as any other industry; it is as unsafe as any other industry,” she said. Abuse of power, she argued, can happen wherever men are in positions of power — not only in entertainment.
Her more pointed observation was about change. Since the MeToo movement, she said, the industry has become “even more safer as a place,” even as cases continue to surface across professions. She was careful not to turn that reality into a dismissal of survivors: “That doesn’t mean that you belittle anybody or someone’s journey or someone’s pain.”
The timing is relevant. In Hunkkaar: The Roar, Fatima plays ACP Jasleen Singh Soin in a story where 17-year-old Meenu Rawat accuses a powerful godman of sexual assault.
Why pay parity is still a math problem
On the gap between male and female pay cheques, Fatima said there is little mystery. Producers think about return on investment: which actor will bring how many people to theatres, and what opening that actor can guarantee.
Because male stars are perceived as bigger openers, the argument goes, they are paid more. A female-led film is seen as carrying more risk. “Unfortunately, it is a very mathematical approach that we have,” she said.
- Producers invest money and calculate expected box-office return.
- Male stars are seen as delivering bigger audiences and bigger openings.
- Very few female-led films are given credit for similar opening power.
The old rules don’t apply anymore
Fatima’s larger point is that this formula has stopped reflecting reality. In her view, only “two or three” actors can now consistently deliver major openings. Outside that small group, no one really can.
Meanwhile, films led by newer faces are finding success. That, she argued, is an opening for pay parity talks: “The rules don’t really apply now. So it is an even better time for us to get equal pay.”
For fans, the takeaway is that box-office “bankability” is becoming a weaker excuse. If audiences are showing up for fresh faces and story-led projects, the economics that justified unequal pay look less sturdy — and the conversation moves from fairness to current data.
Source: bollywoodHungama.com
The room talks
0 comments