Pooja Hegde opens up about pay discrimination in Bollywood

MUMBAI:  A known face of Indian film industry Pooja Hegde has hoped that heroines would start getting paid as much as their male counterparts, adding that women pulling in 100 crore films need equal pay.

 Having been disappointed about pay discrimination in the industry, the actress hoped the actresses would  be paid  as much as their male counterparts as women-driven Bollywood films raking in the money at the box-office has become a trend.

The “Housefull 4” and “Mohenjo Daro”  star says it’s very sad to see the way the industry operates in a way that women are putting in equal amount of effort as the men, but do get paid less. adding that when pay disparity issue was used to be raised, the argument was that the men are bringing the audience in and they are making the money for the producers.

“But now, if you look at the trend that’s going on female-driven films are doing very well,” Pooja told PTI, citing “Raazi” and “Veere di wedding” as examples.

Pooja was quoted as saying, “They are all doing really well. So, I am hoping that now that the women are also pulling in hundred crore films…I think they are going to get paid as much as the men.”

She went on to say that the industry  needs more female producers also to help them  out there.

Producers have now realised that women-driven films are making money. “2018 definitely belonged to women, and I am hoping 2019 will also be the same. People are making female-oriented films,” she said.

Pooja has starred in several Telugu films such as “Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava”, “Sakshyam”, “Rangasthalam”, “Duvvada Jagannadham” and “Oka Laila Kosam”