A decade-old interview clip from the promotion of Aamir Khan’s movie Talassh: The Answer Lies Within (2012) has recently reignited the discussion on Bollywood’s gender pay disparity. In talks with the host during the NDTV interview, Aamir Khan, alongside his co-stars Rani Mukherji and Kareena Kapoor Khan, addressed why Bollywood male actors earn more.

Bollywood’s Pay Disparity is a Systemic Issue

The pay gap between Bollywood’s female and male actors mirrors a broad gender inequality across varied industries. Kareena Kapoor Khan, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Anushka Sharma have long criticized the imbalance, with Kareena even rejecting many roles due to the unequal pay.

While Bollywood’s male-dominated structure perpetuated the gap, Aamir Khan’s words highlighted the disparity existing, even among the crew members like light technicians and cameramen. As per him, they work equally hard. However, they earn way too less than the stars. Such systemic concerns, as noted by Rani Mukherji, stem from deep-rooted biases, wherein the women who made contributions are undervalued, both off and on-screen.

Aamir Khan and His Market Logic for Pay Disparity

During the interview, Aamir countered the debate of gender-centric pay by attributing the pay scales to the commercial visibility of the actors. He argued, saying it’s all about the box office pull and not the gender. He further said that the fees are tied to the ability of the artist to “fill the theater” and not the gender. He said, “If Rani can fill in more seats than I can 101%, she’ll be paid more than me. The market forces will make sure that she that she gets paid more than I do. So it’s got nothing to do with your sex as female or a male. It is your ability to pull people in.” Saying this, Aamir emphasized that it’s the market forces and not the sex that determines paychecks.

When asked if Aamir equated the heroines with the crew members, he clarified that he was comparing himself, the heroines, and the light boys. As per him, they all work hard. However, the earnings reflect what we bring back commercially/financially. It was stressed by him that the cinema is one rare field, and here, the success hinges on the audience’s demands, not the connections or the bribes. 

While Kareens and Rani did agree with Aamir’s logic, the discussion underscored a very harsh truth, which is that until the female stars are perceived to be equal box-office draws, the pay gap would persist. Remarks made by Aamir, despite being pragmatic, remind us that systemic change needs to shift both societal mindsets and market dynamics.