Kriti Sanon On Bollywood Pay Gap: Female-led Films Deserve Equal Budgets & Recognition

Kriti Sanon opened up about pay inequality in Bollywood, saying female-led films are undervalued despite box office success. She will next be seen in Tere Ishq Mein and Cocktail 2.

Kriti Sanon addresses pay disparity in Bollywood, highlighting the success of female-led films like Crew.

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Actor Kriti Sanon has once again brought attention to one of Bollywood’s most persistent issues, gender-based pay disparity. At the CNN-News18 event held on Thursday, the Crew star questioned why men and women in the same profession should be valued differently when the work remains the same.

“Actually, considering all the other industries, I don’t understand why the pay parity is not there. Because for certain kinds of roles, certain kinds of jobs, whether you are a male or a female, it shouldn’t matter, and the pay should be the same. In the films, yes we’ve been having this conversation for a very, very long time and trust me it pinches us more than anyone else," she said.

Female-Led Films Still Face Budget Concerns

Kriti also pointed out that the lack of parity is linked to how female-driven projects are treated in the industry. “Even if it’s a film led by a woman, I feel it’s not scaled at the same budget as a film that is led by a man would be. But that’s also because producers are scared that they are not going to get as much money back. So I think it’s a circle where female-led films don’t end up making as much money as the male-led films, and then it’s like ‘oh, that’s why his fees are more or her fees are less’,” she explained.

Signs of Change in the Industry

Despite the hurdles, Kriti expressed cautious optimism, noting that Bollywood is gradually shifting toward content-driven cinema, where strong storytelling matters more than whether a man or woman headlines the project. She cited the success of her 2024 release Crew, co-starring Tabu and Kareena Kapoor, as proof that audiences are ready to embrace big-budget, women-centric films. The film collected ₹157 crore worldwide, making it one of last year’s highest-grossing Hindi films.

Kriti emphasised that more such projects should be encouraged so that producers take risks based on stories instead of gendered assumptions.

Upcoming Projects on Kriti’s Plate

Looking ahead, Kriti has several films lined up. She will next be seen with Dhanush in Aanand L. Rai’s Tere Ishq Mein. She also stars in Cocktail 2, directed by Homi Adajania, alongside Shahid Kapoor and Rashmika Mandanna.