Deepika Padukone has always demanded fair terms for actresses; here’s how much she got paid for Padmaavat compared to her male co-stars

As per ANI, Deepika Padukone was paid a whopping Rs 13 crore for Padmaavat, also given the fact that the film was then titled Padmaavati, based on her character of Rani Padmini. In comparison, her co-stars — Ranveer Singh (her future husband) and Shahid Kapoor — were paid around Rs 10 crore each. They played Sultan Alauddin Khilji and Raja Ratan Singh, respectively.

When Deepika was asked to confirm her fees for Padmaavat, she said at a promotional event back then, “Talking about my remuneration isn’t exciting. But I am proud and confident about the money I get. You are comfortable with what you are paid. But what makes me happy is that they (producers) have invested so much money in a film which has a poster featuring me on it. That makes me proud.”

“In terms of scale, budget and resources, it’s a huge film. We have seen strong female parts at the fore on screen in different films in different ways. I think this (Padmaavat) is the beginning of great things women have in films,” she added. Later that year, Deepika spoke about why she isn’t afraid to demand equal pay, despite the potential repercussions for her career.

“You can feel a sense of ‘am I stepping over the line, do I deserve it?’ But if you believe you deserve it, then you do,” she told Time magazine. “For years, we’ve been made to feel we should be okay with settling for less, with sometimes a promise of getting something more later on. But I think you should get what you think you deserve. It’s okay to fight for it, and it’s okay to feel uncomfortable initially, because that’s just the way we’ve been made to feel for so long,” added Deepika.

Also Read — ‘By virtue of being a woman, I’m called pushy’: Deepika Padukone on the backlash over her demanding an 8-hour workday; how gender double standards affect working women

Recently, Deepika Padukone also opened up on demanding an eight-hour work shift, particularly after becoming mother to daughter Dua last year. “By virtue of being a woman, if that’s coming across as pushy or whatever, then so be it. But it is no secret that a lot of superstars, male superstars, in the Indian Film Industry, have been working for 8 hours for years and it’s never made headlines,” she argued.

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