Bhojpuri actress Kanak Pandey on pay disparity in her industry

New Delhi: Bhojpuri actress Kanak Pandey in one of recent interviews has alleged that the heroines in the industry have to face the pay disparity issue quite often. She said that the belief that the actresses in the industry get a whooping amount for the film, is wrong and added that sometimes they are paid equal to the crew.

The Bhojpuri industry has carved a niche for itself over the years with some blockbuster films and  top stars like Aamrapali Dubey, Rani Chatterjee, Dinesh Lal Yadav (Nirahua), Khesari Lal Yadav, Pawan Singh and others. Monalisa too was a big name there, but she shifted her focus to television. Some of the others are also quite often seen in TV and Bollywood films. Aamrapali Dubey and Rani Chatterjee are also the highest paid actresses of the industry.

However, when asked about the renumeration method in the industry, Kanak Pandey said she that she has herself been a victim of pay disparity and urged the filmmakers to put an end to it.

“The heroines in the industry are paid very less. Quite often, the production houses also fail to pay money to their make-up artists,” Bollywoodlife quoted her as saying in an interview.  

On a question of Bhojpuri actresses getting up to Rs 20 lakh for films, she said, “I don’t know who gets that. I have never got this much. Sometimes, heroines are paid as much the spot boys, lightman and cameraman.”

She further requested the production houses and directors to chalk out a better plan for everyone’s benefit.

Kanak also alleged that good writers are not respected in the industry. If a writer asks for money, they are replaced with ones who have less experience or with those who take less salary.