'That Suresh Gopi movie was an exception'; Vimala Raman about pay disparity in movie industry

Actress Vimala Raman's heyday in the industry was during the 2010 era. Breaking the conventional norms followed by actresses back then, Vimala ambled across various industries in south India and took up challenging roles, only to see success everywhere. The actress was last seen in Malayalam opposite Mohanlal in ‘Oppam’, released in 2016.

In a recent interview with an online channel, Vimala revealed the competitive atmosphere within the industry where every actor novice yearns for success.

Vimala Raman:

“Even if we are friends, actors will be competing with each other for success in their careers. Some years back, I acted in a Kannada movie and it turned out to be a huge success. The makers decided to remake the movie to Telugu. The director then dialled me saying that my role was given to another actress. He even offered another role in the movie which I curtly denied.

Later I found it difficult to break into the Telugu industry. When enquired with a prominent director, he revealed the highly influential business mentality of the film industry in Hyderabad.

There was a huge disparity in remuneration of actors and actresses and I have experienced it first-hand. Now there have been some changes. When I acted in Malayalam films, my remuneration was very low. But it is not the same in Telugu and Tamil industry. Actors are paid highly for their work. In Malayalam, it was not the case and the only exception was the movie ‘Time’ which I starred opposite Suresh Gopi sir and got paid well.