Anil Kapoor says Kareena Kapoor ‘took a lot of money’ from him as she asks him about pay parity in Bollywood
When Kareena Kapoor Khan asked Anil Kapoor if male actors in Bollywood should stand up for their female co-stars and demand equal pay for them, he replied that she ‘took a lot of money’ from him.
Kareena Kapoor Khan asked Anil Kapoor a question about the wage gap that persists in Bollywood between male and female actors. However, his response left her speechless.
Anil appeared on Kareena’s chat show, What Women Want, and was asked about male actors in Hollywood who take a stand and only associate themselves with projects in which their female co-stars receive equal pay. He was asked if Bollywood actors should start doing the same.
“You toh took a lot of money from me,” Anil told Kareena, leaving her momentarily stumped. She said, “We are breaking barriers, we are doing that. But like you said, there are still some people…”
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Anil narrated an incident when the producers called him when the negotiations with Kareena were on for Veere Di Wedding: “’Yaar, yeh toh hero se zyada paise maang rahi hai.’ Maine bola, ‘De do (‘She is demanding more money than the hero.’ I said, ‘Give it to her).’ They all called me up also, I said, ‘Done.’ They were calling me when the negotiations were on. I said, ‘Bebo jo maangegi, de do (Give Kareena what she wants).’”
Anil also revealed that he has no qualms in being paid lesser than his female co-star and it has happened on several occasions. “There are so many films where the leading actress has taken more money and maine khushi khushi kiya (I did the films happily),” he said.
Kareena has starred with Anil in films such as Bewafaa and Tashan. They are set to come together for Karan Johar’s ambitious period drama, Takht, which also stars Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Janhvi Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal and Bhumi Pednekar.
Takht was supposed to begin shooting in Europe last March but got indefinitely postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The film is set in the Mughal era and will revolve around the relationship between emperor Aurangzeb and his brother Dara Shikoh.
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