Mandakini reveals pay disparity for actresses in the 80s |

In Bollywood, where glitz and glamor often mask the underlying realities of the industry, the stories of stars of the past shed light on significant changes over the years. Mandakinithe acclaimed actress of the 1980s, famous for her role in ‘Ram Teri Ganga Maili“, revealed in an old interview the financial challenges and salary disparities that actresses endured at its peak.
Reflecting on her experiences, Mandakini revealed that remuneration for actresses in the 80s was remarkably low, with salaries ranging from Rs 1 to 1.5 lakh for an entire film. She highlighted a troubling trend in which actresses were seen as easily replaceable, a mindset that perpetuated the wage gap between men and women in industry. “Say someone announces a film, and I accept. In 2-3 days, they would announce the film with someone else,” Mandakini explained in an interview with Pinkvilla.

She revealed that the filmmakers simply cared that the actresses danced to two or three songs with the actors. If an actress said no, they would easily replace her with someone who was cheaper.

This practice not only undermined the value of actresses, but also created an environment in which the cheapest option often prevailed. Mandakini recounted instances where her reported salary of Rs 1.5 lakh led producers to replace her with someone willing to accept as little as Rs 75,000. This relentless cost-cutting not only affected actresses’ earnings but also their careers, because they have often been sidelined in favor of lesser known and cheaper alternatives.

Despite the passage of decades, the question of salary disparity in Bollywood remains a controversial subject. Modern actresses like Vidya Balan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Deepika Padukone, Kriti Sanon, Anushka Sharma and Priyamani continue to voice their concerns over pay inequality, signaling that while some progress has been made, the industry still has a long way to go road ahead to achieve gender pay equity.