Dhyan Sreenivasan: If other actresses can pull off a film like Nayanthara, Manju Warrier, they can demand equal pay

Sayanna Varthakal and Prakashan Parakkatte actor Dhyan Sreenivasan recently opened up about the issues of pay disparity and the crisis that the Malayalam film industry is tackling now due to the hike of actors’ remuneration.

Talking to the press as part of the promotions of his latest theatrical release Sayanna Varthakal, Dhyan pointed out that there is a crisis in the industry with movies not making money in theatres and this in turn justifies the discussions happening among the producers and distributors about actors reducing their pay.

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When asked about his opinion on the issue, the actor said, “I can only speak for myself. I know that Gokul Suresh, my brother (Vineeth Sreenivasan) and myself work for a reasonable remuneration compared to those who have come before or after us, who take home doube the pay. Ours is a small industry and our (secondary) revenue comes from OTT and satellite rights. A lot of actors have hiked their pay since the pandemic considering the OTT rights. But sadly, there isn't that much conversion happening in terms of the revenue from theatres and so, there is a crisis,” said the actor.

Dhyan also shared his take on the issues of pay disparity between male and female actors in the industry that once again became a talking point after National Film Award-winning actress Aparna Balamurali had brought it up recently.

“Irrespective of everything, it's a male-dominant industry. Usually the business happens - in terms of satellite and OTT rights - because of the male stars,” he said. However, Dhyan was quick to add that actress such as Manju Warrier in Malayalam and Nayanthara in Tamil bring in revenue through satellite and OTT rights as well and hence command the equal pay as their male counterparts. “So, if female artistes can bring in that amount of money, they can demand equal pay. It must be when they can pull off a movie on their own,” explained the actor, whose first directorial Love Action Drama as its female lead and is also penning the script for a Malayalam-Tamil bilingual titled 9MM that has Manju in the lead.