Taapsee Pannu says female-driven movies need good reviews to work but big-hero movies...

Actor Taapsee Pannu has spoken about pay parity and asked people not to blame just the film industry for it. In a new interview, Taapsee highlighted the differences between male and female-driven films. The actor said that with female-driven films, people wait for reviews but in male-driven films the advance bookings are high. (Also Read | Taapsee Pannu says she was cast in Shah Rukh Khan’s Dunki ‘purely on talent’)

The actor also responded to a question on the success of her films--Badla and Pink which minted good numbers. She called it 'eventual numbers' revealing that the films started off 'very average'. Taapsee added that 'to have a big opener film, it has to be associated with a big hero presence'. She also added 'a big filmmaker backing' a movie is another criteria for a big opener.

In an interview with Bollywood Hungama, Taapsee said, “Pay parity is not about producers not wanting to give money. So, stop blaming the industry only for this problem. It starts from the level where there are not many footfalls when it comes to female-driven film. When it comes to a female-driven film, people wait for reviews more than advance bookings. When it comes to a male-driven film, the advance bookings are so high that the footfalls are collected within the first weekend itself, i.e. on Friday, Saturday, Sunday."

"For a female-driven film, we have to wait for a Monday because by then, there is ample word of mouth and reviews which give us a brief idea about the film. We have to undergo the review test whereas many male-driven films end up opening big without any of these. So audiences too will have to contribute to this change, that’s when we can bring about the change we desire to see,” she also added.

Taapsee has several films in the pipeline including Anurag Kashyap's Dobaaraa with Pavail Gulati. It is the official Hindi adaption of Oriol Paulo's 2018 Spanish-language film Mirage.

Apart from Dobaaraa, Taapsee will also be seen in Shabaash Mithu, based on the life of cricketer Mithali Raj. Directed by Srijit Mukherjee, the film is all set to hit the theatres on July 15. The actor also has Rajkumar Hirani's Dunki in the pipeline. She will feature opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Dunki which is set to release in theatres on December 22, 2023.