Raveena Tandon On 90s Pay Gap: "What Male Stars Made In A Film, I Made In 15"

"What they would make in one film, I would make in, say, 15 films," said Raveena Tandon

Actress Raveena Tandon, who recently stunned audiences and critics with her performance in the legal drama film Patna Shuklla, has been fairly vocal about her journey in the movie industry. In a recent chat with Jist, she talked about the pay disparity between male and female Bollywood actors in the 90s. The actress noted, "The money wasn't great for actresses in those days. In those days, the money was very, very low, especially the pay disparity between actors and actresses. Male stars got much more. What they would make in one film, I would make in, say, 15 films. I can't speak for everybody, I can't generalise this. I had to do nearly 15–20 films to make as much money as my male counterparts.”

The Mohra star also opened up about male actors having the luxury of doing fewer films as compared to women actors. “In those days, Aamir and Salman were doing selective films while heroines would be working with many more heroes. But for everybody overall, the money was much less than today's situation,” added Raveena.

In an earlier chat with NDTV, Raveena Tandon spoke about losing out on certain projects because she thought that the costumes or dance moves were inappropriate. Raveena discussed that there were times when she said, “No, I am not going to do this step. No, I am not going to wear this costume.” The star further added, “I have given up so many movies where I was not comfortable with the costumes that I was given to wear. There were so many songs where I have said, ‘Sorry, but I don't think that this is appropriate and I have stood by that.' There have been times where I had to sacrifice a couple of movies and stuff for that. But then, so be it. But I had to live my life my way.”