Kriti Sanon Opens Up About The Struggles She Faced While Making Her Way Into Bollywood. She Was Told She Wasn’t Pretty Enough
In India, we can run short on a lot of things from time to time, be it resources, patience or even compassion. But one thing that is available in abundance is unsolicited opinions. Be it your neighbourhood aunty, your insecure boss at work, or in this case, your casting agent or manager, from society to Bollywood, everyone is guilty of being over critical and dismissive about you, says actress Kriti Sanon who recently opened up about the kind of issues she faced while making her way into Bollywood.
A self-made woman, Kriti Sanon did not enter riding on someone else’s coattails. But on her own merit. And naturally, her journey was not as smooth or glamorous from the beginning. And in one such conversation about her struggles of coming from a non-acting background to an industry where looks and who you know matter the most, she talked about how she too was made to feel like an outsider time and again.
She said, “When I came to Mumbai I was very lost. I didn’t know anybody. I had no idea about how to start. How do I approach people? Then, I was with an agency and things moved a bit. People are constantly judging you. There are 10000 people telling you, ‘Yeh karo, yeh mat karo’. Maybe you should change the way you look or start dressing up.” Because since time immemorial, Bollywood has relied upon unrealistic beauty standards, trying to mold everyone around it.
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She then continued sharing how, “There was a point of time when I have gone to a mall with my manager to pick up clothes for meetings. You are so lost that you’re made to feel you’re not dressing it right which is why people are not liking you. You start doubting yourself sometimes. So many times, it has happened that I was this close to being cast in a film and it would go to an already established actor.” Well, no surprises there.
She further elaborated, “Someone told me change your make-up, line your lips. Self-doubt seeps in when you enter from nowhere and you have nobody to guide you. I have been in a space when I had a few offers at hand which weren’t great but I was tempted to doing it, thinking maybe I won’t get another opportunity. Star kids get their second film even before their first releases. We have to prove our worth with our films.”
And this goes way deeper than just a star status. Indian movie industry has always been rather superficial and rigid when it comes to selling a face on the screen, and has always promoted skewed and unhealthy standards of beauty. This has ultimately led many able actresses like Kriti Sanon herself, to fall into a rut of over-thinking and under-confidence. However, we are glad that she could crawl out of it, and had the spine and talent to make it on her own in the industry without giving in to such irrational standards.
