Rahul Bose Reveals Earning Significantly Less Than Kareena Kapoor in ‘Chameli’ Due to Her Star Power

Rahul Bose disclosed that he had earned much lower than Kareena Kapoor in the 2003 film Chameli, as he recognized her star power and ability to pull in audiences. Bose said these at the 'Mardon Wali Baat' conference, where he humorously called himself a "starlet." He praised Kapoor's talent and dedication during the rigorous night shoots of the movie, according to PTI.

The actor noted, "Men have also been starlets, and I am a shining example of that... I was the starlet in 'Chameli', Kareena was the star; she gets more people into the theatre even today than I would. Simple as that. I was paid a fraction of what Kareena was paid. It's completely logical... The people who actually govern who will come in, you better take the ratio. It has happened. It has happened to me throughout my career. I am never the guy who brings people into the theatre."

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Bose believes the film industry is fair in terms of pay, stating, "I have produced two films. I would not pay me more than what I got. So I don't buy this (gender pay disparity); the film industry is super equitable in that way. You get the money, you get paid, you don't get the money, you get paid less..."

Regarding masculinity and violence against women as themes in Indian cinema, Bose commented that cinema usually becomes the "whipping boy" because it is visible. He explained that movies just reflected society, good or bad, and that cinema is a very "faithful younger sibling" of society that mirrors its values and flaws.

"As soon as the elder brother does something, we latch on to a trend. That's it. We don't create trends, we latch onto the trend.. We are looking to see where is the 'hawa', what is catching, and then we pick it up, sometimes you do it well, sometimes you don't," he explained.

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The actor emphasized that violence against women in cinema is really dependent on society in which the cinema breathes. These portrayals, he added, have been very inconsistent since the 1950s, saying, "I think the depiction has been rocky, patchy, up and down."

"You have to be part architect, part interior designer, part psychologist, part painter, part musician, part lyricist, part actor. It's asking you to do everything at that moment in five minutes," he noted.

He further added, "Ray was so great because he was a polymath, he could do 19 things. He did the camera work, he composed the music, he was working with Ravi Shankar, he is doing calligraphy. Ray Roman is a font, I mean, the guy was a dude, it's just amazing".

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