Mushtaq Khan has been a popular figure in the industry when it comes to comedy. The actor and comedian has been a prominent figure since the 1980s and has delivered several iconic characters to the audience.
Among his many roles, Ballu from Anees Bazmee’s Welcome has always stood out. Sidekick to Nana Patekar’s character, Don Uday Shetty, Mushtaq Khan’s performance was no less than iconic. The comedy movie also starred Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Paresh Rawal, Mallika Sherawat, Anil Kapoor, and Feroz Khan. Base Industries Group produced the movie, and it has become a cult classic ever since its release in 2007.
The actor recently talked about the ongoing issue of pay parity in Bollywood. Check out the podcast here:
Mushtaq Khan reflects on pay disparity in Bollywood
In a recent podcast, Mushtaq Khan addressed the issue of pay disparity in the Indian film industry. The veteran actor revealed his payment for the movie Welcome and how it was less than the salary of Akshay Kumar‘s staff. He 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 further added, “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.”
Several actresses in Bollywood have talked about the gender pay gap and have called out the industry for equal pay for equal work. Priyanka Chopra recently revealed how her Prime Video series Citadel was the first time she was paid the same as her male co-stars.
Welcome is available to stream on Jio Cinema.
