Pay parity has long been a subject of debate in the Indian film industry, with many actors and filmmakers weighing in on the gap between what male and female stars earn. Speaking about the issue on Soha Ali Khan’s podcast, Saif Ali Khan and Kunal Kemmu explained that remuneration is largely driven by box office economics and audience demand rather than gender.During the conversation, Saif said that actors of similar stature should ideally receive equal pay, but the industry’s payment structure is deeply tied to the ability to draw audiences to theatres.Saif Ali Khan on pay parity in Indian cinemaSaif Ali Khan said, “If the actors are of equal stature, they should be paid the same amount. But I also feel the economics work in a certain way. If you are putting people in seats in the theatre, you get paid accordingly. Everyone understands that relationship.” He added that the system isn’t meant to favour one gender over another, but rather reflects an actor’s market value.“It’s not like just because you are a certain gender you deserve to be paid more or less. It’s actually a very balanced economic system where people are clear that this person is a superstar because they are filling theatres. They know their worth, charge that price and get paid.”ALSO READ: Dhurandhar The Revenge trailer decoded: From Jaskirat Singh Rangi’s introduction to Yalina picking up a gun; Aditya Dhar’s ‘peak detailing’ impresses fansKunal Kemmu on ‘maths’ behind salariesKunal, meanwhile, broke down the “maths” behind how actor salaries are decided in the industry, explaining that historically distributors could predict a film’s recovery based on the stars attached to it. “There is a maths to it. This is the mathematical part, not whether a film will work or not — that’s a different thing. Earlier, distributors knew that if I have this actor, I can sell a territory for a certain amount of money and that becomes part of the recovery,” he saidHe explained that a film’s overall budget, including marketing and production costs, is decided around the revenue a star can bring in. “When you get a star who can bring in a certain amount of money, their remuneration is calculated around that. But, of course, now some stars are charging so much that it has become lopsided — the actor is taking more than the film itself.”Story continues below this adKunal also pointed out that the conversation around pay parity would change if female-led films consistently delivered the same box office pull as male-driven blockbusters. “If you are in a country where audiences are going and supporting a female-led action film the way they support something like Pathaan or Jawan, then there would be no conversation around this. It would automatically happen.”How economics is different for OTTSpeaking about the streaming era, Kunal noted that the economics shift on OTT platforms because budgets are not directly linked to box office performance.“When you go to the OTT space, it’s not backed by box office numbers. If Netflix or Amazon says they want to make a female superhero film with a certain budget, they can cast whoever they want — even a newcomer,” Kunal claimed.Recalling his experience working on the Golmaal franchise, Kunal said remuneration can vary significantly. “When we did Golmaal, there was Kareena and five other actors. I’m sure Ajay got paid more than her, and she got paid more than all of us. We were all on the poster, but that doesn’t matter. The film was about the couple.”Story continues below this adHe also said that producers ultimately decide salaries based on what they can afford. “If I am making a film, I decide what I pay myself. But if I am making a film with five other people, I’ll do the math and say I can pay you only this much.” Drawing a global comparison, he added that star power drives salaries everywhere in the world. “If I’m making Mission: Impossible, I will pay Tom Cruise for that. I can’t pay a female actor — even if she is Meryl Streep — that kind of money, because audiences are coming to see him. That is the nature of the business.”‘Now there is more parity’Saif also shared how the situation has evolved over time, pointing out that female stars in earlier decades rarely enjoyed the same pay levels as their male counterparts. “There was a time in the 1970s when huge movie stars like our mother Sharmila and later Sridevi were incredibly popular,” he said, referring to Sharmila Tagore and Sridevi. “Audiences loved seeing Dharam ji with Zeenat Aman, but they were not getting paid anywhere close to the same.”According to him, things are gradually improving today. “Now there is more parity. If people say they really like actors like Ananya Panday or Kareena Kapoor, they are getting paid more. The world is balancing out. Earlier, patriarchy was much stronger than it is now.”