Actor Parineeti Chopra has said that she doesn't talk about the pay gap in the Indian film industry as she feels women make up for it by doing more endorsements than men. Speaking in an episode of Tapecast, where she was promoting her new film 'Jabariya Jodi' with co-star Sidharth Malhotra, she said, "I always felt like I deserved a little bit more but I only got this much. But then we make it up with endorsements. Girls do a lot of endorsements so we kind of make it up. So that is why I never talk about it because the boys don't do as many endorsements as girls. I hope I'm right. We do so many beauty commercials and hair commercials like so many brands and I think we kind of cover it up."
Parineeti’s comments have been criticised online as being ‘shallow’. A Twitter user said, "Who cares about pay parity when you can do is beauty and hair commercials." Another Twitter user said, "Lol. And clearly she is ok with it!" Actresses like Deepika Padukone and Taapsee Pannu have spoken about the necessity of equal pay in the industry.
Meanwhile, Parineeti also provided some insight into how much she made for her debut film 'Ladies VS Ricky Behl'. She said she made Rs 500,000 for appearing in a supporting role in the film. She said for her third film, 'Shuddh Desi Romance', filmmaker Aditya Chopra hiked her fee himself. Parineeti said she couldn't argue for more money several times, even though she felt she deserved it. She said she has seen the paychecks of her male co-stars, who sometimes make four times what she does, despite being on roughly the same level as her.
