Things are rapidly changing in the industry ever since OTT platforms entered the game, and conversations have been plenty about female actors getting better roles with more substance on the digital medium. This makes one wonder what’s the situation on the subject of pay disparity — something that has been widely discussed in regard to the film industry. Is the game-changing medium any better in terms of equal pay irrespective of gender? Actors stand divided.

Kirti Kulhari, who has starred in acclaimed OTT shows such as Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors and Four More Shots Please!, says the subject of pay parity is not as “black and white” as male vs female. “I would like to believe that in the OTT space it is getting more equalised, given the fact that male and female actors are in the same position... While pay disparity exists, it is changing for the better,” says the 36-year-old actor.

Recently, Rasika Dugal had told us you never know “whether you are being discriminated against”. “You can never pinpoint if you’re getting paid less because you’re a woman... It’s so subtle, and hence, it’s hard to fight it,” said the actor, who has been part of big web shows such as the Mirzapur franchise and Out of Love.

Divya Dutta, too, has good things to say about the changing scenario based on her personal experience. However, she doesn’t deny that there’s still more to be done, and that male and female actors receiving different paychecks for the same amount of work is a reality, even in the OTT space. The National Film Award winner, who has starred in Special OPS and Hostages on the web, says, “Personally, I am seeing pay getting equal with all the other male counterparts. What has become more important is the roles and how the story centres around the characters, and accordingly the pay symbolises that. I guess it is a good trend, but we are still on the way.”

Actor Raveena Tandon, who will make her OTT debut in an upcoming series, had told us recently, “The industry has most definitely changed for the better. I am not saying we (women) have got there, but we’re getting an equal pay scale kind of situation.”

We also ask Akshay Oberoi, a prominent male name on the OTT space, about his perspective on the issue. The Flesh and High actor, believes that “the situation is better for female actors now”. Citing the example of Swara Bhasker, who was his co-star in Flesh, he says, “She got paid more than me. And where we were in our respective careers, she deserved that. That’s the way to look at it. How much time you’ve been here in the industry, you get paid accordingly.”

Meanwhile, Mahie Gill, recently seen in the second season of Your Honour, is not interested in how much other people get paid. “I really don’t know what the other person gets. I have never asked or tried to find out. I am happy with the kind of money I am getting. I think I get what I deserve. But yes, definitely [I agree with] the women who are fighting for their right. Same pay hona chahiye. At the same time, I feel mera kitna market hai, kitni audience pull in kar sakti hoon, that’s also important,” she states.