Kareena Kapoor gets support from Pooja Hegde over her alleged fee hike to play Sita: ‘Kuch toh log kahenge’

Actor Pooja Hegde has come out in support of actor Kareena Kapoor who was recently criticised after reports surfaced that she had asked for ₹12 crore to play Sita in a reimagining of the Indian epic, Ramayana. Pooja said that people will always have an opinion. She added that Kareena ‘is asking’ for what she thinks she is worth’.

A certain section of the public on Twitter, last month, had said that Kareena had hurt the religious sentiments of a community by hiking her fees to essay the role of Sita.

Speaking to a leading daily, Pooja Hegde said, “Like the song goes, ‘Kuch toh log kahenge, logo ka kaam hai kehna (People will always have an opinion because that’s what they do)’. That’s a part and parcel of the job and I am sure even Kareena herself was unfazed by it. More power to her! She is asking for what she thinks she is worth and it is the producer’s call at the end of the day on what he thinks he can pay. So more power to her. The more women realise their worth, the more they will even get what they deserve.”

So far actors Taapsee Pannu and Priyamani, of The Family Man fame, has come forward defending Kareena. Priyamani had told Bollywood Bubble, “Regarding the pay parity I would definitely say that if a woman is asking for what she deserves I think it is because she deserves it. That is her market thing and she deserves it what she is asking for. So I don’t think you should question that…These ladies have reached a point where they can say what they want to… You can’t make a comment on that person just because you think that it’s wrong that doesn’t mean that the person doesn’t deserve it.”

Speaking to the same media outlet, Taapsee had said, “If it would have been a man in that position, who would have asked for a particular amount, it would have been looked upon like, ‘iski market badh gayi hai (his worth has improved)’. Like that guy has really achieved big success in life. But because a woman is asking for it, she’s called ‘difficult’, ‘too demanding’. It’s always like that.”

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Earlier, Bollywood Hungama had reported, quoting a source, saying that Kareena hiked her fee to ₹12 crore for the film from around ₹6-8 crore.

Meanwhile, Pooja Hegde will be next seen in Salman Khan-starrer Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali, Cirkus co-starring Ranveer Singh, Prabhas-led Radhe Shyam and filmmaker Koratala Siva’s historical action film, Acharya.