Fatima Sana Shaikh, who enjoyed back-to-back releases and success with Metro…In Dino and Netflix’s Aap Jaisa Koi in July, revealed that the humongous success of Dangal gave ‘her emotional and financial stability’.
“I was lucky that I got Dangal, uske wajah se meri Duniya khulgayi. Financial stability aagayi, emotional aagayi. Especially, I have realised ke agar financial stability hoti hai na, emotional stability aane lagti hai. Woh bahol corelated hai, relationships bhi thode mend hojate hai. Woh matter nahi aap karodo mein karodo mein kamao ya 100 rupaye mein kamao, but if it fits world aur aapki jitni bhi zarooratein hai woh fulfil hojati hai usse na aapko bahot shanti aur security milti hai. So that happened with Dangal. (Dangal gave me financial and emotional stability. I have realised that if you are financially stable, you also become emotionally stable. It doesn’t matter if you are earning in crores or hundreds as long as it fits your world and fulfils your needs. This gives you peace and security), Fatima told while talking to journalist Subhojit Ghosh.
In a recent interaction with Firstpost, the actress spoke about gender pay gap and said, “There are women who are asking for what they deserve, and that is commendable because to voice it and to even receive that was like a dream. And, you know, these are the women like Deepika Padukone who are paving paths for us so that tomorrow, when we are in that position, we won’t obviously think twice to get our due. But, you know, box office is a clear correlation to how much money you’re making. So, if there is no box office return, then producers are not going to give that money to you.
And, unfortunately, all of this depends upon the audience. If the audience is going to take in and appreciate and accept the film led by women, and make it work and make it successful. Only then will there be a change.
But, I’ll go too far. So, when the audience accepts them, they go and watch their films. For example, if there is a new actor and if there is a Kareena Kapoor, she will get paid more than her newcomer hero. It’s not only in the film industry. It happens even in the sports world. They will always see the reproductive age of the woman. It’s time for women to decide even if she’s willing to work during that time or not that choice is entirely hers.”