Sushmita Sen said that the industry isn’t fair to female actors and is still mostly a ‘man’s world’. But she also highlighted how the OTT space has changed things for her, especially in terms of finances and she doesn’t have to fight for better pay anymore. Sushmita also said that if female actors do not get along with the top four male actors, then they are ‘done’.
In a conversation with Barkha Dutt for ‘Mojo Story’, Sushmita said, “I think the biggest mistake we can make as actresses is to expect kindness in this industry. Fairness is a better word and again, it’s a man’s world, it’s a man’s industry and there are no two ways about it even now.”
Sushmita continued, “To be an actor right now is amazing, but to expect fairness for anything… I mean, we know even if I headline a show, I have to fight for the figures that I want because someone’s throwing me numbers of the next male hero A-lister who’s charged so much. That’s where I think OTT is changing the game because now that’s not what they give me an example of anymore.”
When asked in what other way the industry is a ‘man’s world,’ Sushmita said, “It’s the whole gamut of it, the saleability and the idea of saleability. I’m talking now purely about films. It still doesn’t engage the idea of being gender fluid. It’s still very much male, with four or five top actors. As a female actor, you’re done if you don’t belong to one of the camps.”