Taapsee Pannu reveals low pay for Dunki, claims male leads avoid casting 'overshadowing' actresses

Taapsee Pannu

Actor Taapsee Pannu revealed that she didn't make much money from movies like Dunki, where she stars alongside Shah Rukh Khan, and Judwaa 2 with Varun Dhawan. In an interview with the Indian Express, she mentioned that in big films, the male lead often has a lot of influence over who plays the female lead. Taapsee added that some male actors prefer casting someone who won't outshine them.

Taapsee Pannu opens up about low pay in big films like Dunki

Taapsee stated, "Funnily, people think I do films like Judwaa or Dunki for money, that I get paid a lot. But no, it is the opposite - I get paid to do more for films that are headlined by me, like a Haseen Dillruba, and other films don't really pay me much because they feel they are doing a favour by taking me up in that kind of a film. They feel, ‘There is already a big hero, why do we need anybody else for that?' I fight these notions on a daily basis."

Talking about major movies and their heroes, Taapsee said, "Now, even the audience knows that heroes decide who the heroine is going to be in most of their films, until you have a very big, super successful director, who has his or her own audience. Then the director will take a call no matter what. But 75 percent of the times, it is the hero who has a big say on who the heroine is going to be. Now, obviously, the hero would want someone who is more in trend, someone who is getting more audience attention right now. Some are secure, others think, ‘Let me cast someone who will not overshadow me,'"

Taapsee Pannu opens up about nepotism

Previously, Taapsee has openly spoken about nepotism and other issues. The ace actor said that people have created a perception about stars.

"Actors are believed to have low IQ and people think that they hardly know anything especially if it is a woman then they think, 'how dare you have an opinion'. But anyway, it is a double-edged sword, I feel. If you have an opinion, then also it's a problem. You don't have an opinion, then also it is a problem."

Taapsee is known for her powerful performances in movies such as 'Pink', 'Thappad', 'Rashmi Rocket', 'Shabaash Mithu', among others. Although she made her Bollywood debut with 'Chashme Baddoor' in 2013, she gained a lot of prominence with her movies such as 'Baby' and 'Pink'.

(With inputs from ANI)