While we’re on the subject of Bollywood, one actor who is unimpressed with all the hype that surrounds the Mumbai film industry is Naseeruddin Shah. The actor, 66, who has both starred in and endorsed the new age of Pakistani cinema, has no kind words left for Bollywood.
While we’re on the subject of Bollywood, one actor who is unimpressed with all the hype that surrounds the Mumbai film industry is Naseeruddin Shah. The actor, 66, who has both starred in and endorsed the new age of Pakistani cinema, has no kind words left for Bollywood.
In a recent TV interview with one of India’s leading news channels, Naseeruddin Shah noted that it’s pointless for Shah Rukh Khan to add the name of his female lead before his own name in a film’s credits when pay gap inequality in Bollywood is sky-high and women don’t make one-fifth of what their male co-stars make.
Gender pay gap is an important subject that has inspired debate in Hollywood, where stars as diverse as Robin Wright (House of Cards) and Jennifer Lawrence (X-Men franchise, Silver Linings Playbook) have addressed the issue head-on. In fact, Wright walked away with the same package as Kevin Spacey for the upcoming fifth season of HOC and threatened to go public if her justified desire for the same salary was not met.
Of course, Bollywood is different and when male superstars double as producers (Salman, Shah Rukh, Aamir, you name it), no one will question it much less address it as a serious issue. Kareena Kapoor remains the sole exception as she spoke about it years ago.
Coming back to Bollywood, Naseeruddin Shah, who is appearing in a new film called Waiting alongside Kalki Koechlin, says it’s not for those who whistle at SRK and Salman Khan’s films.
“Audience, who whistle at or watch Salman and Shah Rukh Khan’s films, Waiting is not for them. But, thankfully there is a set of audience, who enjoy or like such films,” concluded Shah.
There is a profound truth to Shah’s words. Two of last year’s most talked about films, Dilwale and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo have been honoured with the Ghanta Awards, which recognise and reward some of the most terrible films made in Bollywood.
Not surprisingly, Shah Rukh Khan and Sonam Kapoor picked up Worst Actor and Worst Actress awards for their performances in Dilwale and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, respectively. The latter also won an award for Worst Film (of the year and possibly this century).
All this only means one thing: the box office success of such plotless films will die down, slowly and painfully. Consider the fact that in 2016 hardly any major film has entered the sacred 100 crore club which is the definition of sucess in Bollywood.
