Priyanka Chopra Jonas on Bollywood: 'I’d earn 10% of my male co-actor’s salary'

Actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas tells BBC 100 Women that she received adjacent wage to her antheral co-actor for the archetypal clip successful her 22-year vocation for her relation successful a forthcoming US spy series, Citadel.

She is simply a hugely palmy prima successful India and has acted successful much than 60 Bollywood movies. About a decennary agone she made a foray into Hollywood and is present 1 of the fewer Indian actors to marque a people for themselves successful the US amusement industry.

"I've ne'er had wage parity successful Bollywood. I would get paid astir 10% of the wage of my antheral co-actor", said Ms Chopra Jones.

"It's [the wage gap] is large, substantially large. And truthful galore women inactive woody with that. I'm definite I volition excessively if I worked with a antheral co-actor present successful Bollywood," she added.

"My procreation of pistillate actors person decidedly asked [for adjacent pay]. We've asked, but we've not got it."

Speaking aft having been named connected the BBC 100 Women database for 2022, Ms Chopra Jonas recounted however arsenic a young histrion successful the Indian movie manufacture she accepted heavy rooted patriarchy arsenic "normal".

"I thought it was perfectly OK to beryllium for hours and hours connected set, portion my antheral co-actor conscionable took his ain time, and decided whenever helium wanted to amusement up connected acceptable is erstwhile we would shoot," she said.

When she started retired successful Bollywood, she recalls facing assemblage shaming due to the fact that of her complexion.

"I was called 'black cat', 'dusky'. I mean, what does 'dusky' adjacent mean successful a state wherever we are virtually each brown?

"I thought I was not beauteous enough, I believed that I would person to enactment a batch harder, adjacent though I thought I was astir apt a small spot much talented than my chap actors who were lighter skinned. But I thought that was close due to the fact that it was truthful normalised," she said.

"Of course, that comes from our assemblage past, it's not adjacent been 100 years since we shed the British Raj, truthful we inactive clasp connected to it, I think. But it is up to our procreation to beryllium capable to chopped those ties and alteration it truthful that the adjacent procreation doesn't inherit the equity placed connected airy skin."

When asked however antithetic Hollywood is regarding wage parity, Chopra Jonas said, "Well, the archetypal clip it's happened to me, it has happened successful Hollywood. So I don't cognize going forward. Because this was my archetypal amusement with a antheral histrion arsenic a co-lead," referring to her upcoming relation successful action-packed spy bid Citadel.

Despite being known and adored by millions successful South Asia, the histrion had to conflict for a decennary to carve a niche for herself overseas.

"I would spell into meetings by myself, present myself and instrumentality my amusement reel. I worked with acting coaches and dialect coaches. I did auditions, got rejected, cried, past went backmost for different one. I did the hustle that I needed to bash to marque it successful immoderate caller industry. It was a humbling experience," she said.

In 2015, Ms Chopra Jonas became the archetypal South Asian to beryllium the pb successful a web tv programme successful the US, with thriller bid Quantico. She has besides been the archetypal Indian connected the screen of aggregate prestigious manner magazines.

But she says it's inactive hard to get mainstream enactment successful Hollywood for radical of her ethnicity, contempt a greater consciousness to beryllium much inclusive and diverse.

"I deliberation possibly I've built a definite magnitude of credibility, and truthful I'm doing absorbing work. We'll spot if that's accepted oregon not. It's truly hard to beryllium South Asian and Indian successful Hollywood. There's inactive a agelong mode to go," she said.

As an planetary personage who is often vocal astir planetary events, Ms Chopra Jonas has faced disapproval successful India for not commenting connected home issues. Her publicist intervened to halt her responding to a question astir that criticism.

When replying to an earlier question astir receiving affirmative and antagonistic attraction connected societal media, she said: "There volition ever beryllium radical that volition say, 'You didn't accidental thing astir something,' 'You should person said thing astir something'. And it's conscionable like, you tin ne'er delight everyone."

Ms Chopra Jonas spoke to BBC 100 Women successful Lucknow, successful bluish India, wherever successful her relation arsenic Global Unicef Goodwill Ambassador, she visited wellness centres and schools, gathering young pistillate students.

She's been associated with Unicef for 15 years and successful summation to India, has travelled to Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Jordan and Bangladesh, among different countries, gathering children affected by struggle and earthy disasters.

"When you're a nationalist person, radical are funny successful seeing wherever I am, wherever I'm going. So I consciousness similar that's wherever I find my purpose, if I tin usage the level that I person to speech astir the initiatives and the problems children face, and however they person flooded them... possibly the radical who devour maine volition besides devour their message," she said.

"So I amplify the voices of people, particularly of children, whose voices don't travel. This is the top occupation of my life."

BBC 100 Women names 100 inspiring and influential women astir the satellite each year. Follow BBC 100 Women connected Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Join the speech utilizing #BBC100Women.