Why Aishwarya Rai Bachchan getting paid Rs 10 crore for a film is good news

Deepika Padukone and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan might be the only two female actors to get more money than their male counterparts, but it shows a trend that accepts female actors’ pull at the box office.

The Hindi film industry is infamous for the pay disparity between male and female actors. Actors like Deepika Padukone and Anushka Sharma have raised the issue in the past. It, however, is not be an exclusively Bollywood-centric problem though as Hollywood actors such Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Stone have been very local about it as well.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the music launch event of Jazbaa. (AFP Photo)

But finally there is some good news, for Bollywood at least. As per news reports, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been offered Rs 10 crore for the remake of 1967 film Raat Aur Din. She will be reprising the role played by Sanjay Dutt’s mother Nargis. A source close to the film told Mid-Day, “Since Aishwarya has a double role, the film will require extensive preparation. It will be a time-consuming project, which means she will have to let go of the other films that come her way. The fee she has quoted is fair. The producers have agreed to the amount without any negotiation.”

The source further said, “The makers have discussed the tribute film with Sanjay. Since Aishwarya has wrapped up her parts for Fanne Khan, she will start prepping for the film soon. Though trade insiders are squirming at the possibility of a 44-year-old female actor walking home with a fat pay cheque, producer Prernaa Arora believes that Ash is putting a lot at stake for her film, and the fee is warranted.”

It’s believed that Sanjay Dutt has green-signalled the film.

Some months ago, there were reports that Deepika Padukone had been paid Rs 13 crore for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati, which is more than Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor’s remuneration in the film.

Before that, even Amitabh Bachchan said that Deepika was paid more than him in Piku.

Deepika and Aishwarya might be the only female actor to get more money than their male counterparts, but it shows a trend that accepts female actors’ pull at the box office.