Kangana Ranaut has previously spoken candidly about the pay gap between male and female actors in Bollywood, recalling a time when she questioned why she was not earning as much as her male counterparts.
While promoting Dhaakad, the actress said she had reached a stage in her career where she could confidently say that she was no longer underpaid.
Her comments came during discussions around gender-based pay disparity in the Hindi film industry, an issue she has addressed publicly on several occasions.
Kangana Ranaut on Pay Disparity in Bollywood
In an interview with Free Press Journal, Kangana was asked about the difference in remuneration between male and female actors.
The actress acknowledged that earlier in her career, she had wondered why she was not receiving pay comparable to leading male stars.
“I did think, why don’t I get paid equally like the heroes at this stage of my life?” she said.
However, Kangana said her circumstances had changed and that she was now satisfied that she was not being underpaid.
“I am sure I am not underpaid,” she said, adding that she could now “happily” make that statement.
Kangana Credits Men Who Helped Her Career
Interestingly, Kangana did not frame her journey solely around the challenges faced by women in the industry.
She said several men had supported her career and helped her reach the position she was in.
“This makes me feel all the men have helped me through this journey,” she said.
For Kangana, achieving greater recognition and negotiating better opportunities was the result of multiple people contributing to her career rather than the work of one individual.
Rekha and Hema Malini Paved the Way
Kangana also acknowledged the contribution of veteran actresses such as Rekha and Hema Malini.
According to the actress, women who established themselves as leading stars in earlier generations helped create opportunities and privileges for actresses who followed.
She suggested that the position female actors occupy today is partly the result of the groundwork laid by women who challenged the industry’s traditional expectations.
Kangana on Turning Down Male-Centric Films
The actress also reflected on periods when she deliberately declined projects built around major male stars.
Kangana said she had refused several male-centric films, including projects led by some of Bollywood’s biggest actors.
“I have had my own fair share of lower points when I refused a lot of male-centric films,” she said.
Rather than accepting every major opportunity, Kangana said she had always believed that films centred on female characters could succeed.
That belief eventually aligned with Dhaakad, in which she played the central action role.
‘I Always Had This Vision’
Kangana said she had long believed that a female-led action film on the scale of Dhaakad was possible.
Pointing towards the film’s poster during the interview, she said she had always had the vision, even though she did not necessarily have a complete plan for bringing it to life.
She also acknowledged that such a project could not have been executed by her alone.
“I can’t execute it alone,” she said, crediting director Razneesh Ghai and producers Deepak Mukut and Sohel Maklai for helping bring the project together.
Kangana Says Success Takes a Combination of People
Kangana’s comments ultimately presented her career as a combination of individual ambition and support from others.
“I’d say that for a woman to have a successful journey, so many men support her. So, it is a combination of many things,” she said.
The observation added another dimension to her discussion of gender equality: while she acknowledged the industry’s pay gap, she also recognised the collaborators and professionals who helped her build a career in an industry where female-led projects have historically faced challenges.
Kangana Ranaut in Dhaakad
At the time of the interview, Kangana was preparing for the release of Dhaakad, an action film directed by Razneesh Ghai.
The actress played an assassin in the film, alongside Arjun Rampal, Divya Dutta and Saswata Chatterjee.
