There is a frequent discussion that women around the globe are often underpaid compared to their male counterparts. The gender pay gap is present across all industries, in fact, Hollywood and Bollywood actresses have regularly shown their displeasure when it comes to paychecks. Stars including Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep and Viola Davis have spoken out on the disparity, however, Pakistani artist, Amar Khan says this is not the case in Pakistan’s television industry.
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“I think we do not even make enough money from films and other mediums as compared to what we make from TV,” she said denying financial corruption within the television industry in an exclusive chat with Something Haute.
“Unlike cinema and theater, television is a running industry; so we get paid well.,” she added explaining that there may be times when there are delayed payments, especially right now due to the Covid situation.
She also went on to add that she’s confused why people always say female actors get paid less.
“We get paid more than the man of that same drama. Women are paid more in dramas,” she stated asking if a female actor has ever admitted that.
“If there is Saba Qamar or Sajal Aly or Mahira Khan or Mehwish Hayat or any other actor of that same calibre such as Yumna Zaidi, I know from my resources that they would get paid more than the male lead of that drama.”
Amar also said that female actors get more commercials as compared to males. “This is one of the few industries where women are paid a very handsome amount which is sometimes more than their male counterparts,” she concluded saying that maybe this is a borrowed narrative from the West.
“In Pakistan, content heads and channel owners are women, so this is already a very empowered industry.”
In the interview with Something Haute, Amar answered a range of questions related to the kind of content being produced to what sort of difficulties are faced when creating unique content. She also spoke at length about her currently airing drama Qayamat which is gaining massive response and viewership and her upcoming film Dum Mastam which promises to be amazing.
Watch the complete interview below:
