Filmmaker Karan Johar on Monday addressed the issue of gender pay disparity in Bollywood and said his banner Dharma Productions had always ensured there was no disparity in remuneration.
According to Karan, his production house maintains the ethos that everyone, both men and women, "get paid solidly for their art, craft and abilities".
"All of us here are for both commerce and art. None of us are here for only one. When it comes to female-led films, we have always made sure that there has never been a disparity at our end.
"There is now profit-share being given. There is sometimes a producer credit given to women where they have dominated or led the films," the filmmaker told reporters.
He was speaking at the trailer launch of his upcoming production "Good Newwz".
The film's cast Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Diljit Dosanjh and Kiara Advani were also present. Karan found backing in Akshay, who said equal pay is the future.
"I have been working with Dharma and other corporates. They finalise everything and I am happy with what Karan said just now. He is absolutely right. That's the way it should be and ahead in the future too, it will be in the same way," Akshay said.
Kareena and Kiara weren't asked to comment on the pay disparity issue neither did they make any addition to Karan and Akshay's remarks.
Before "Good Newwz", Karan and Akshay collaborated on films such as "Brothers" and "Kesari". Their next project is the Rohit Shetty-directed "Sooryavanshi".
Asked what the phrase 'good news' meant for Karan, the filmmaker joked, "... when actors take less fees for working with me, which Akshay has never given me".
Last month, at the Jio MAMI Movie Mela with Star, 2019, Kareena said she would love to get paid as much as her male co-stars.
She was in conversation with Karan and actor Alia Bhatt.
When Karan said one would assume Kareena and Akshay would have got paid equally for "Good Newwz", Kareena quipped, "Please pay me as much as you paid Akshay Kumar I'll run out of MAMI!" Written by Jyoti Kapoor and directed by Raj Mehta, "Good Newwz" is scheduled to be released on December 27.
