Vidya Balan is happy with what she is paid: 'Don't know pay parity because I don't work with big heroes'

Vidya Balan opened up about the lack of pay parity in Bollywood in a roundtable conversation where she was joined by Nimrat Kaur, Huma Qureshi and Mrunal Thakur.

Actor Vidya Balan is opening up about the pay disparity in Bollywood. The actor was part of a roundtable discussion when the topic of pay parity in Bollywood (female actors getting paid less than their male counterparts) was raised. The Sherni actor responded by saying she is happy with what she is being paid in the context of her films. (Also read: Vidya Balan's saree gets caught on red carpet, fans applaud her for handling it 'like a pro'. Watch)

Vidya Balan was recently seen in Jalsa, where she played a journalist (Photo: Instagram/balanvidya)

In the roundtable discussion conducted by News18, Vidya was joined by actors Mrunal Thakur, Nimrat Kaur and Huma Qureshi. Commenting on the issue of pay parity, Vidya said, "I don't know about pay parity because I am not doing films alongside the 'big heroes.' I think that's where it comes into play. But if you had to see the overall percentage of what I get paid... within the budget of a film to what a hero gets paid, I think the percentage is the same. Now their films cost 10 times more than what my films do, so obviously I am getting paid ten times less. But, within my construct I am happy." This is not the first time Vidya has commented on the topic. Earlier she had acknowledged that there exists a significant salary gap between male actors and female actors in Bollywood. But she is confident that this gap will close with time and would rather concentrate on how far the actors have come to addressing the same.

Vidya's response was lauded by actor Nimrat Kaur in the same video who said "That's a very healthy way of looking at it." Nimrat also commented further on the topic saying that what an actor is paid is directly proportional to the number of people they are going to bring to the film. Meanwhile Mrunal Thakur added that she is really happy with what she is getting paid, and makes her stance clear whenever there is a conversation around it.

Vidya was last seen in Suresh Triveni's Jalsa where she played a journalist. The film also starred Shefali Shah and Manav Kaul. She will be next seen opposite Scam 1992 actor Pratik Gandhi in an untitled film, which also stars Ileana D'cruz and Sendhil Ramamurthy.