Kareena Kapoor’s comments on pay disparity get reactions from Saif Ali Khan, Ajay Devgn

© Photo by Sujit Jaiswal / AFP) (Photo by SUJIT JAISWAL/AFP via Getty Images
Kareena Kapoor Khan attends a promotional event for her What Women Want season 2 talk show in Mumbai on December 11, 2019

Actor Kareena Kapoor Khan’s recent comments on pay disparity in the film industry have drawn reactions from her husband, Saif Ali Khan, and his Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior co-star, Ajay Devgn.

Kareena in a recent interview to the New Indian Express had said that it is difficult for female actors to negotiate with producers. She’d said, “With actors like Anushka Sharma and Deepika Padukone turning producers, the conversation is slightly different. The bigwigs are left with no choice but to bring female actors on board, since they are bringing in that amount of revenue. The atmosphere is finally changing. We must remember that this is a change that requires a larger social dynamic than just the film fraternity. It has to be overhauled from the level of how a man looks at a woman on the street. But I’m glad that a small part is at least being acknowledged.”

In an interview to Pinkvilla, Saif agreed with his wife. “I would say it is terribly unfair. They should get paid as much. I completely agree with her. I think the industry is very economically driven, so the people that pull at the box office get paid more, fair or unfair, it is like that,” Saif said. To this, Ajay added, “There are actors who are paid less than the girls.” Saif continued, “If the females tomorrow make a film which is shouldered by them and pull them off, immediately their fee will go up.”

Kareena was most recently seen on screen in the comedy film Good Newwz, opposite Akshay Kumar, Kiara Advani and Diljit Dosanjh. The film opened to positive reviews and made almost Rs 18 crore at the box office on its first day. Kareena is also shooting for Laal Singh Chadha, with Aamir Khan, and will next move on to Karan Johar’s period epic, Takht.

Saif and Kareena, along with their son Taimur and Kareena’s sister, Karisma and her children, are currently on holiday in Switzerland. Karisma has been posting updates from the vacation on social media. 

Saif and Ajay are reuniting for the first time since Omkara in Tanhaji. Saif plays the antagonist in the film, based on the life of an unheralded warrior in the army of Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The film is due for release on January 10.

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