Saif Ali Khan and Kunal Kemmu discussed pay parity in the film industry on Soha Ali Khan’s podcast. They said actors’ salaries are primarily determined by their box-office pull rather than gender
Saif Ali Khan
Actors Saif Ali Khan and Kunal Kemmu recently appeared together on a podcast hosted by Soha Ali Khan. The trio discussed several aspects of the film industry. Saif became an active part of the movie industry in the early 1990s after making his acting debut, while Kunal started as a child actor and is today a successful actor and director.
Saif Ali Khan on pay parity
During the conversation, Soha asked her brother Saif and husband Kunal about pay parity in the industry and whether gender influences salaries. The two actors said that pay is largely driven by the box-office pull of an artist and has little to do with gender.
Saif Ali Khan noted that actors with similar stature deserve to be paid equally. He said, “If the actors are of equal stature, they should be paid the same amount. But I also feel the economics work in a certain way. If you are putting people in seats in the theatre, you get paid accordingly. Everyone understands that relationship.”
The actor further said that the pay structure reflects the box-office pull of an artist. “It’s not like just because you are a certain gender you deserve to be paid more or less. It’s actually a very balanced economic system where people are clear that this person is a superstar because they are filling theatres. They know their worth, charge that price and get paid.”
Kunal Kemmu on the math behind remuneration
Kunal Kemmu, who has been part of the film industry for a long time, also spoke about the math behind remuneration. “There is a maths to it. This is the mathematical part, not whether a film will work or not- that’s a different thing. Earlier, distributors knew that if I have this actor, I can sell a territory for a certain amount of money and that becomes part of the recovery,” he said.
Saif Ali Khan's work front
The actor was last seen in the film Jewel Thief which was released on Netflix last year. The actor will next be seen in Netflix’s period drama Hum Hindustani, which chronicles the behind-the-scenes story of India’s first democratic election. The film also stars Pratik Gandhi and is directed by Rahul Dholakia. Saif also has Priyadarshan’s Haiwaan in the pipeline, co-starring Akshay Kumar. The film has wrapped filming, with its release date awaited.
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