Bollywood actor Kareena Kapoor Khan, who was recently the subject of a controversy after it was reported that she had hiked her fee to star in a reimagining of the Ramayana from Sita’s perspective, has said that more people are talking about pay disparity in the industry now, HT reported.

In an interview, Kareena Kapoor said that she makes it clear how much she should be paid for projects, and likened it to ‘respect’. While Kareena has never spoken about the unconfirmed reports that suggested she’d asked for ₹12 crore to appear in the epic film, she spoke about equal pay in the industry in light of the controversy for the first time.

“Just a few years ago, no one would talk about a man or woman actually getting equal pay in a movie. Now there are a lot of us being very vocal about it,” she told the Guardia.”

Bollywood Hungama had previously quoted a source as saying that Kareena Kapoor had hiked her remuneration from around ₹6-8 crore to ₹12 crore for the Sita film. The source also noted that the film would require between eight to 10 months of the actor’s time. Incidentally, her husband Saif Ali Khan is playing Lankesh in another film inspired by the Ramayana, Adipurush.