Taapsee Pannu: Shabaash Mithu's budget is equivalent to the budget of a male A-lister's salary

Shabaash Mithu will see Taapsee Pannu take on the role of the iconic Mithali Raj. The actress has made a name for herself playing strong, powerful women on screen, and is never one to shy away from telling it how it is. The actress recently opened up about the gender disparity in the film industry, especially when it comes to the salaries of male and female stars.

In conversation with Bollywood Hungama, Pannu spoke of how the industry still has a ‘long way to go’ in achieving true equality for both male and female actors. Talking about the pay gap, the actress revealed that Shabaash Mithu was one of her biggest films, in terms of budget, where she plays the protagonist. But despite that, the entire film’s budget is still only equal to the salary of an A-list male actor.

Expanding on her point, the actress said that when she said A-listers, she did not mean the stars who are at the top of the ladder, but a few rings below it. Such star’s salaries would equal the whole budget of some of her films.

The actress admits that the situation does seem to have improved over time though, as she would not have even gotten a chance to promote a film like Shabaash Mithu a few decades ago. “So, things have changed, but not anywhere it could be called equal”, she added.

Pannu talked about how it was her responsibility as an actress to ‘ensure’ that her producers do not lose money. So she keeps that in mind while discussing her salary for a film. But at the same time, she had to take care that she safeguards her own salary amount before the film’s release, as the audiences reaction to a film is hard to anticipate.

Shabaash Mithu will hit the big screens on July 15, 2022.