Actress Lara Dutta, who was recently seen in the web show 'Ranneeti: Balakot & Beyond', reflected on pay disparity in Bollywood, in a recent interview. Lara, who has been in the industry for two decades also opened up about her journey. She said there is still a pay gap between male and female actors.

In an interview with India Express, Lara spoke about her experience of being a celeb 21 years ago as she said it was simpler for her but also 'more chaotic'. She added, ''The professionalism has come in with a lot of corporates and studios, and it has become more streamlined. Back then, it was a lot more free-flowing, but it was all over the place.''

The actress also said that nowadays there is very much pressure on the younger actors to look or present themselves in a certain way due to so much of media presence. ''We, on the other hand, did our jobs, focused on our work, and got on with it,'' she said further.

While opening up about the challenges she faced back then, Dutta said as a woman, there were plenty of them, and one of the biggest ones was pay disparity which she feels is still prevalent in the industry.

''We work as hard if not harder than most of our male counterparts in the business, but most women still get paid, if they are lucky, one-tenth of what the actor gets paid,'' she added.

However, she is happy how the shelf-life of actresses and beauty standards have evolved. “Earlier it was thought that by the time you reached 30, it was time for you to settle down as your career was finished. I never faced that. I am in my 40s now and I haven’t stopped working,'' said Lara.

On the professional front, Lara Dutta is part of Nitesh Tiwari's 'Ramayana'. She will also be seen in 'Welcome To The Jungle'.