When Mandakini recalled pay disparity for actresses in the '80s; said salaries were only Rs 1 to Rs 1.5 Lakh

In Bollywood, where the glitz and glamour often mask the industry's underlying realities, the stories of past stars highlight significant changes over the years. Mandakini, the acclaimed actress of the 1980s famed for her role in ‘Ram Teri Ganga Maili,’ revealed in an old interview the financial challenges and pay disparities that actresses endured during her heyday.
Reflecting on her experiences, Mandakini revealed that the compensation for actresses in the '80s was remarkably low, with salaries ranging from Rs 1 to 1.5 lakh for an entire movie. She highlighted a troubling trend where actresses were deemed easily replaceable, a mindset that perpetuated the gender pay gap in the industry. "Say someone narrated a movie, and I accept. Just within 2-3 days, they would announce the movie with someone else," Mandakini shared in an interview with Pinkvilla.

She revealed that filmmakers were just bothered about actresses dancing to two or three songs with the actors. In case an actress said no, they would easily replace her with whoever would come cheaper.
This practice not only undermined the value of actresses but also created an environment where the cheapest option often prevailed. Mandakini recounted instances where her quoted salary of Rs 1.5 lakh led producers to replace her with someone willing to accept as little as Rs 75,000. This relentless cost-cutting not only affected the actresses' earnings but also their careers, as they were often sidelined for lesser-known, cheaper alternatives.

Despite the passage of decades, the issue of pay disparity in Bollywood remains a contentious topic. Modern actresses like Vidya Balan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Deepika Padukone, Kriti Sanon, Anushka Sharma, and Priyamani continue to voice their concerns about unequal pay, signaling that while some progress has been made, the industry still has a long way to go in achieving gender pay equity.