Gender pay gap has remained the same: Zeenat Aman

Veteran actor Zeenat Aman spoke about how the Hindi film industry has changed in the last few decades. She pointed out, however, that the ‘gender pay gap’ has remained the same. She recalled that she was the ‘highest paid female actor’ in her career but the disparity in the pay cheque between her and her male co-stars ‘was so vast it was laughable’.

Taking to ‘Instagram’ recently, Zeenat took a trip down memory lane and posted an old video. The clip featured her rehearsing her song ‘Laila o laila’ from ‘Qurbani’ (1980). The video also gave a glimpse of actor Feroz Khan behind the camera. As the scene ended, Feroz said, “Ya, I don’t like the frame.”

Zeenat in the video then said to a person behind the camera, “90 percent of the time, most of the women here are just playing ornamental roles, purely ornamental. They sing and dance and sort of prance around the leading man. That’s about it. What I feel is happening now is that changes are coming about.”

“Women are demanding good roles and refusing to work in films; let’s say they have participation. They want to do something; they demand something; they are getting something to do. I think that’s exciting. I think women in India should have something to identify with other than just ornamentation,” she added.

The veteran actor captioned the post, “In the late 1970s, Keith Adam from the ‘Australian Broadcasting Commission’ popped by the set of ‘Qurbani’, where I was rehearsing for ‘Laila o laila’ and snagged himself an interview. It’s been nearly 50 years since this footage was shot and the industry has changed immensely since. The roles available to women are clearly not just ornamental anymore.”

“What hasn’t changed, though, is the gender pay gap. In my time, I was lauded as the ‘highest paid female actor’, but the disparity in the pay cheque between my male co-stars and myself was so vast it was laughable. The Zeenat you see in this clip was quite certain that half a century would be enough time to even the scales. So, it disappoints me that even today women in the film industry don’t have wage parity,” she said.