Bhumi Pednekar Calls Out Gender Pay Gap In Bollywood: 'I Was Paid Just 5% Of My Male Co-Star's Fee'

Actress Bhumi Pednekar has spoken out about the stark gender pay gap in Bollywood, opening up about how women across industries globally face wage disparity.

Speaking at the recent ABP Network’s Ideas of India 2025 event, Bhumi stated, "The CEO of any major conglomerate, if she is a woman, will undoubtedly earn a lower salary. The pay gap is even more in the film industry."

Recalling her own experience, the actress revealed that she was once offered just 5 per cent of what her male counterpart earned for a project, despite both having the same number of hit films and starting their careers around the same time.

"We were leading the film together, yet he got 80 per cent more. I did that film because I didn’t have a choice. I wanted to create an ecosystem where I can empower myself and others," she shared.

The gender pay gap in Bollywood has been a long-debated issue, with several female actors, including Deepika Padukone and Taapsee Pannu, also speaking out against it.

Bhumi on casting couch in film industry

During the same interview, Bhumi, who worked as an assistant casting director at Yash Raj Films before becoming an actress, said though she has not personally faced casting couch, she admitted that such things exist in the industry.

"Before I became an actor, I was casting in an institution that was clean and organised. My casting director Abhimanyu Ray would never cast a girl without me being present in the room. Now that’s the ecosystem in which I grew up," she said.

"I was 17 when I started as a casting director in Yash Raj Films. I’ve no first-hand experience of it. But does that mean it doesn’t happen? No, it does because we’ve had many women who have dared to come out and speak about it. I would never negate a girl’s experience," Bhumi added.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Bhumi latest film Mere Husband Ki Biwi hit the big screens on February 21 and it has received mixed reviews from critics and the audience.

She will next be seen as a cop in her debut web series Daldal. The show is based on Vish Dhamija's book 'Bhendi Bazaar'. The actress will be seen as Rita Ferreira, Mumbai's newly appointed DCP who is haunted by the guilt of her past and dealing with demons of her present.