Aishwarya Rajesh: “I’m Not Cast Opposite Big Stars Because I Do Women-Centric Films”
This is shocking!
Award-winning actress Aishwarya Rajesh recently participated in a discussion about gender inequality in the entertainment industry and creating a more inclusive space for women at Prime Video’s Maitri: Female First Collective during its first session in Chennai. The session featured actors Malavika Mohanan, Madhoo and behind-the-camera talents like Sweet Kaaram Coffee creator Reshma Ghatala, cinematographer Yamini Yagnamurty and filmmaker Swathi Raghuraaman. During the discussion, Aishwarya Rajesh spoke about being body shamed, not getting films with big stars and questioned why she’s doing women-centric films.
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During the session, Aishwarya Rajesh recalled when she was new to the industry, she was told that she is too dark-skinned and is not even good-looking enough to be a junior actor let alone a leading actor. The actress shared that people also had a problem with the way she spoke Tamil. Confessing that she didn’t know how actresses are groomed, Aishwarya revealed that she wasn’t groomed well but after the incident, she tried her hand at acting. She said that she wanted to give it back to people who said that she can’t do it.
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Also Read: Madhoo Reveals This Shocking Thing Male Actors Do At Editing Table. “They Chop Off Scenes…”
Speaking about her work, Aishwarya Rajesh said that when she started working, she did a lot of women-centric films after which she stopped getting opportunities to star opposite the leading actors in the entertainment industry. “I wondered why I’m not getting opportunities with big stars and then I thought ‘Maybe their roles are not up to your level’,” said Aishwarya Rajesh.
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Further, the award-winning actress recalled an incident during a recent interview in Hyderabad where a journalist asked her why she’s only doing female-centric films. Aishwarya Rajesh revealed that she responded by asking the journalist if they can go and ask the same question to the hero and find out why he’s only doing hero-centric films. She went on to question why terms like ‘female-centric’ and ‘women-oriented’ even exist in the first place.
It’s a relief to hear the actress open up about gender-based discrimination in the entertainment industry and called it out fearlessly!
First Published: July 06, 2023 7:07 PM
