Mushtaq Khan Reveals He Was Paid Less Than Akshay Kumar's Staff For ‘Welcome’, Talks About Pay Disparity In Bollywood
Actor Mushtaq Khan highlighted pay disparity in the film industry, revealing his payment was less than Akshay Kumar’s staff during the making of ‘Welcome’.
Who can forget the hilarious Bollywood movie ‘Welcome’? The film, directed by Anees Bazmee, released in 2007 and remains to be a fan-favourite thanks to its rib-tickling dialogues, entertaining plot, fun dance numbers, and more. The 2007 movie featured Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar, and Paresh Rawal. The film received positive reviews and was a box office success. The ‘Welcome’ franchise expanded with the release of ‘Welcome Back’ in 2015. The sequel retained some of the original cast, including Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor, and Paresh Rawal, while introducing new characters played by John Abraham and Shruti Haasan.
After years, a third installment of ‘Welcome’, titled ‘Welcome To The Jungle’, is in the works. Amid the buzz around ‘Welcome 3’, a shocking piece of information regarding the first ‘Welcome’ movie has surfaced.
Indian actor Mushtaq Khan recently opened up about the pay disparity in Bollywood. The actor revealed that he was paid less than what Akshay Kumar’s staff were paid for ‘Welcome’. On the Digital Commentary podcast, Mushtaq Khan also recalled how he travelled economy and was allotted the same hotel as Akshay Kumar’s staff.
On the Digital Commentary podcast, Mushtaq Khan was asked about his thoughts on receiving significantly lower pay than Akshay Kumar in ‘Welcome’. The actor said, “My payment might have been lesser than Akshay Kumar’s staff in the film. Unfortunately, our films spend a lot of money on stars. We go everywhere on our own, we travel in economy and stay in the hotels provided by the makers. In Dubai, the hotel I was allotted, was the same hotel in which Akshay’s staff was staying. This happens a lot in big films.”
He added, “But a lot of filmmakers want to end this disparity. I am doing a film titled Stree 2 and I get a lot of love and they take care of everyone. We have a lot of fun together. I recently did Railway Men and I had a lot of fun. The production guys gave a lot of respect. The new generation of production people and even actors are doing very well.”
Many actresses in Bollywood have previously opened up about the gender pay gap. Priyanka Chopra Jonas recently revealed that her Amazon Prime Video series ‘Citadel’ was the first time she was paid the same as her male counterparts.
Meanwhile, Mushtaq Khan has acted in several Bollywood films such as ‘Rowdy Rathore’, ‘Gopi Kishan’, ‘Wanted’, ‘Ek Aur Ek Gyarah’, ‘Mujhse Shaadi Karogi’ and most recently ‘Gadar 2’.
