When Varun Dhawan told Alia Bhatt to demand more money for her roles

In recent times, pay disparity has been a point of much debate. In two of world’s major film industries, the disparity is rather stark. In the past, actors such as Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Vidya Balan, Kangana Ranaut, Anushka Sharma, Sonakshi Sinha and Katrina Kaif have all spoken about the huge gap between what the leading male stars are paid and what female leads get. In Hollywood, actors such as Jennifer Lawrence, Patricia Arquette, Emma Stone and Meryl Streep, have been raising their voices against the issue.

Meanwhile, very few men (barring Shah Rukh Khan and Arjun Kapoor) from the industry back home, have spoken on the issue. Now, Varun Dhawan has touched on the topic. In an interview to Film Companion, Varun said: “Why has it taken the trade and the industry as a whole until a Raazi to realise that Alia Bhatt is a big star. Be it Badrinath Ki Dulhania, Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and even 2 States, were all hits and Alia Bhatt was just as responsible for its success as I was or Arjun was (Arjun Kapoor was the male lead in 2 States).”

In fact, it was Varun who made Alia realise that she was demanding less money than she deserved, given her status as an actor-star. He said: “I would always tell Alia, what are you doing? You take very little money. Are you stupid? Increase your price.”

Varun and Alia have been good friends and have had a successful run together as well. They will soon be seen in Karan Johar’s Kalank. They started out together with Student of the Year in 2011 and soon did many successful films -- Varun did October, Badlapur, Judwaa 2 while Alia did Dear Zindagi, Highway and Udta Punjab.

Varun will next be seen as Mauji in Sui Dhaaga with Anushka Sharma. The film is scheduled to release on September 28.

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First Published: Sep 19, 2018 13:44 IST