Taapsee Pannu says she wasn't paid much for Dunki, male actors 'cast someone who won't overshadow them'

Taapsee Pannu recently revealed that she didn't "get paid a lot" for her films like Dunki starring Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role and Varun Dhawan's Judwaa 2. In an interview with Indian Express, she explained that male actors prefer to "cast someone who won't overshadow them." The actress stated, "Funnily, people think I do films like Judwaa or Dunki for money, that I get paid a lot.

But no, it is the opposite – I get paid to do more for films that are headlined by me, like a Haseen Dillruba, and other films don’t really pay me much because they feel they are doing a favour by taking me up in that kind of a film. They feel, ‘There is already a big hero, why do we need anybody else for that?’ I fight these notions on a daily basis." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Taapsee Pannu (@taapsee) She pointed out that big heroes often have considerable influence over casting decisions, which can affect the roles available for actresses.

She added, "Now, even the audience knows that heroes decide who the heroine is going to be in most of their films, until you have a very big, super successful director, who has his or her own audience. Then the director will take a call no matter what. But 75 percent of the times, it is the hero who has a big say on who the heroine is going to be.

Now, obviously, the hero would want someone who is more in trend, someone who is getting more audience attention right now. Some are secure, others think, ‘Let me cast someone who will.