A collage of Saif-Kareena and Akashdeep Sabir.
Credit: Special Arrangement
Veteran filmmaker Akashdeep Sabir, who was last seen in Alia Bhatt starrer Jigra, and his wife Sheeba have stirred controversy by criticising Bollywood’s power couple Kareena Kapoor Khan and Saif Ali Khan. While speaking to a leading publication, Akashdeep and Sheeba were seen discussing gender-based pay parity in the film industry.
Talking on this issue, Akashdeep sarcastically commented that, despite charging ₹21 crore per film, actress Kareena Kapoor Khan couldn't manage to keep a watchman outside her home. “Abhi aap log ₹100 crore denge phir aap kuch karoge (when you will pay them ₹100 crore, maybe then they can afford security) or a driver in the night. (Shouts, 'Auto')."
While his wife Sheeba said, the effect of a flop film is more on male actors than their female counterparts, and so the former is paid more.
He further critcised 'Saifeena' for relying on the CCTV cameras for their safety measures and said, “A CCTV camera doesn’t stop a crime; it only helps solve it later. Just because you have 30 cameras doesn’t make it safe.”
Akashdeep’s statements were in response to an incident that happened January where Saif was injured in a robbery attempt at his Mumbai home. After undergoing surgery, the actor made his first public appearance at a Netflix event on Monday, saying that it felt “nice to be standing” once more.