Priyanka Chopra was paid 10 per cent of her male co-star's salary in Bollywood

Before she became a massive global star, Priyanka Chopra Jonas was one of the highest-paid Bollywood celebrities.

But the actress, producer and entrepreneur has sparked renewed discussions about pay disparity after revealing that even during her heyday in India, she only earned 10 per cent of her male co-star's salary.

"I've never had pay parity in Bollywood. [The pay gap] is large, substantially large. And so many women still deal with that. I'm sure I will too if I worked with a male co-actor now in Bollywood," she recently told BBC in an interview.

"My generation of female actors have definitely asked [for equal pay]. We've asked, but we've not got it."

The interview was conducted as part of the annual BBC 100 Women list for 2022, a compilation of inspiring and influential women from around the world. Included in the list this year along with Chopra Jonas are global music phenomenon Billie Eilish, Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska, actress Selma Blair, Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi and Ghanaian author Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah.

Chopra Jonas, who became an international star after being cast in the hit US series Quantico in 2015, has only appeared in two Hindi films since, the last one being the 2019 film The Sky is Pink, which she also produced.

Priyanka Chopra Jonas played the lead in the hit show Quantico. Photo: ABC

She made her Bollywood debut in 2003 with The Hero: Love Story of a Spy, following her Miss World win in 2000, and has since appeared in more than 60 films, many of them alongside some of India's biggest stars.

Chopra Jonas, who has starred in a number of Hollywood films, including Baywatch, Isn't it Romantic and The Matrix Resurrections, says for the first time in her 22-year career, she's being given equal pay to her male co-actor. She is set to star in the Amazon science fiction series, Citadel, directed by Anthony and Joseph Russo. The show, one of the most expensive ever, also stars Richard Madden and Stanley Tucci.

"Well, the first time it's happened to me, it has happened in Hollywood. So I don't know going forward. Because this was my first show with a male actor as a co-lead," Chopra Jonas told the BBC.

While female actors in Hollywood have long spoken about the need for pay parity, the gap is believed to be particularly wide in India's film industry. According to Yahoo! Finance, top earner Akshay Kumar reportedly charges close to 1.3 billion rupees ($15.7 million) for a film while one of the highest-paid actresses, Deepika Padukone, is said to charge 150 million rupees ($1.8 million) per movie.

The World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index for 2022 ranks India at 135 out of 146 countries.

“If a female actor asks more, she is termed difficult and problematic and if a man asks more, it’s a mark of his success. Difference is, the men who started with me earn three to five times more than what I do. And the gap keeps increasing as we go in higher star category," Bollywood actress Taapsee Pannu told The National Bulletin last year.

In the BBC interview, Chopra Jonas also spoke about deep-rooted patriarchy in the industry.

"I thought it was absolutely OK to sit for hours and hours on set, while my male co-actor just took his own time, and decided whenever he wanted to show up on set is when we would shoot," she said.

Chopra Jonas married singer and actor Nick Jonas in 2018. The couple share a daughter, Malti Marie Chopra Jonas, who was born in January via surrogacy. Besides acting in and producing films, Chopra Jonas is also a serial investor with interests in a number of tech start-ups, including the dating app Bumble. Last year, she launched her haircare line Anomaly and opened Indian restaurant Sona in Manhattan.

Miss World to Mrs Jonas: Priyanka Chopra's style evolution in 47 photos — in pictures

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%3Cp%3ETotal%20trade%20in%20goods%20and%20services%20(exports%20plus%20imports)%20between%20the%20UK%20and%20the%20UAE%20in%202022%20was%20%C2%A321.6%20billion%20(Dh98%20billion).%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThis%20is%20an%20increase%20of%2063.0%20per%20cent%20or%20%C2%A38.3%20billion%20in%20current%20prices%20from%20the%20four%20quarters%20to%20the%20end%20of%202021.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20UAE%20was%20the%20UK%E2%80%99s%2019th%20largest%20trading%20partner%20in%20the%20four%20quarters%20to%20the%20end%20of%20Q4%202022%20accounting%20for%201.3%20per%20cent%20of%20total%20UK%20trade.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

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Sunday's games

All times UAE:

Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace, 4pm

Manchester City v Arsenal, 6.15pm

Everton v Watford, 8.30pm

Chelsea v Manchester United, 8.30pm

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPeyton%20Reed%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Paul%20Rudd%2C%20Evangeline%20Lilly%2C%20Jonathan%20Majors%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

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The specs

Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 582bhp

Torque: 730Nm

Price: Dh649,000

On sale: now

What's in the deal?

Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024

India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.

India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.

Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments

India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery

Sustainable Development Goals

1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere

2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

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15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development

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UAE cricketers abroad

Sid Jhurani is not the first cricketer from the UAE to go to the UK to try his luck.

Rameez Shahzad Played alongside Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett in Durham while he was studying there. He also played club cricket as an overseas professional, but his time in the UK stunted his UAE career. The batsman went a decade without playing for the national team.

Yodhin Punja The seam bowler was named in the UAE’s extended World Cup squad in 2015 despite being just 15 at the time. He made his senior UAE debut aged 16, and subsequently took up a scholarship at Claremont High School in the south of England.

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

FINAL LEADERBOARD

1. Jordan Spieth (USA) 65 69 65 69 - 12-under-par
2. Matt Kuchar (USA) 65 71 66 69 - 9-under
3. Li Haotong (CHN) 69 73 69 63 - 6-under
T4. Rory McIlroy (NIR) 71 68 69 67 - 5-under
T4. Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP) 67 73 67 68 - 5-under
T6. Marc Leishman (AUS) 69 76 66 65 - 4-under
T6. Matthew Southgate (ENG) 72 72 67 65 - 4-under
T6. Brooks Koepka (USA) 65 72 68 71 - 4-under
T6. Branden Grace (RSA) 70 74 62 70 - 4-under
T6. Alexander Noren (SWE) 68 72 69 67 - 4-under

Priyanka Chopra was paid 10 per cent of her male co-star's salary in Bollywood

The actress and producer was a massive star in India before she made her international debut

Miss World to Mrs Jonas: Priyanka Chopra's style evolution in 47 photos — in pictures

UK%20-%20UAE%20Trade

Frida%20

While you're here

Sunday's games

Ant-Man%20and%20the%20Wasp%3A%20Quantumania

While you're here

The&nbsp;specs

What's in the deal?

Sustainable&nbsp;Development&nbsp;Goals

While you're here

UAE cricketers abroad

Timeline

FINAL LEADERBOARD

The specs

Sustainable Development Goals