Priyanka Chopra has once again taken a jibe at racism in Bollywood and Hollywood.
On the occasion of Equal Pay Day (April 10, 2018), Chopra spoke about racism she faced in India and the West.
During a conversation with an international portal, Priyanka spoke about how pay disparity is prevalent in both the industries.
Talking about on losing a movie project because of her skin colour, PeeCee said, “It happened last year. I was out for a movie, and somebody [from the studio] called one of my agents and said, ‘She’s the wrong—what word did they used?—‘physicality.’ So in my defense as an actor, I’m like, ‘Do I need to be skinnier? Do I need to get in shape? Do I need to have abs?’ Like, what does ‘wrong physicality’ mean? And then my agent broke it down for me. Like, ‘I think, Priy, they meant that they wanted someone who’s not brown.’ It affected me.”
Addressing pay disparity between male and female members, she said, “I feel it every year, especially when you’re doing movies with really big actors, whether it’s in India or America. If an actor is getting 100 bucks, the conversation will start with max, like, 8 bucks. The gap is that staggering. In America, we don’t talk about it as brashly, whereas in India the issue is not skirted around. I’ve been told straight up, if it’s a female role in a movie with big, male actors attached, your worth is not really considered as much.”
She even recalled an incident, when she was in talks with the makers of a Bollywood movie for casting her in the film, but pay disproportion came into the picture.
She said, “A producer-director said to me, ‘Well, you know how it is in these big tentpole movies with the big boys. This is the budget for the girl, and we can’t move beyond that,’ which was, like, a measly five percent of what [the male lead] was getting. It happens in both countries, it’s just that here, it’s hidden behind other things. In America, everyone is so worried about being liable that they don’t want to say anything wrong, but they end up doing it anyway.”
Priyanka is all set to return to TV with Hollywood series Quantico’s season 3. The actress will also be seen in Hollywood films like A Kid Like Jake alongside Jim Parsons and Isn't It Romantic with Liam Hemsworth.
Images Source: instagram/priyankachopra