Actor Kriti Sanon opened up about the ongoing issue of gender pay inequality in Bollywood at a recent event.

She drew attention to the industry's historical resistance to treating male and female actors equally and asked why salaries should vary when the work is the same

Speaking at the CNN-News18 event on Thursday, Kriti said, "Actually, considering all the other industries, I don’t understand why the pay parity is not there. Because for certain kinds of roles, certain kinds of jobs, whether you are a male or a female, it shouldn’t matter, and the pay should be the same. In the films, yes we’ve been having this conversation for a very, very long time and trust me it pinches us more than anyone else."

“Even if it’s a film led by a woman, I feel it’s not scaled at the same budget as a film that is led by a man would be. But that’s also because producers are scared that they are not going to get as much money back. So, I think it’s a circle where female-led films don’t end up making as much money as the male-led films, and then it’s like ‘oh, that’s why his fees are more or her fees are less’," she added.

Kriti was upbeat about the modest but notable change in the industry's mindset in spite of the difficulties. Regardless of whether they are directed by women or men, she observed that content driven films are starting to gain prominence.