Give us fatter pay cheques: Vidya Balan

Actor Vidya Balan, who is often ­credited for ­being one of those who made women-centric films mainstream, is happy to see that in the recent months, “some brilliant films with female leads have done extremely well — both critically and ­commercially”.

Actor Vidya Balan, who is often ­credited for ­being one of those who made women-centric films mainstream, is happy to see that in the recent months, “some brilliant films with female leads have done extremely well — both critically and ­commercially”.

Vidya-Balan-during-a-felicitation-programme-in-Mumbai-PTI-Photo

However, there is still something that pains her heart. “You know, I feel that there is still a lot of disparity in the pay cheques of male and female actors,” she sighs, and adds, “If there is one thing I could change about the industry, I think it’d be this disparity. The female actors should also get an equally fat cheque.”

The actor, who made her Bollywood debut with Parineeta (2005), a film appreciated for its strong female protagonist, recalls that there was a time when the kind of films she did were considered ­exceptions. “I am very happy to see the kind of films being made over the past two years. I remember when I did Ishqiya (2010), No One Killed Jessica (2011), The Dirty Picture (2011) and Kahaani (2012), these films were considered an ­aberration. Slowly but surely, I think it gained momentum, and between last year and this year, I can think of at least eight good films with women in the lead,” says the 37-year-old actor.