Actor Kritika Kamra recently got real about the challenges of showbiz, from dealing with the "casting couch" to the annoying bias people have against TV actors.
In a recent interview, she looked back at the early days of her acting career and what it is actually like trying to make it in Bollywood.
"I had heard about things like the casting couch. My parents had read about it in the papers. I also had a brush with it but got off unscathed. It was just luck and chance," she said.
She added, "It wasn't because I was too smart. I really wasn't because when I had started out, I was really young."
She also spoke about the deep-rooted hierarchy within the industry, especially how TV actors are often looked down upon compared to film stars. "I've experienced this hierarchy. I was happily doing TV, and, in my head, there was no difference between TV and films."
She added, "I came from a small town, and anybody who was onscreen was an actor for me. I wasn't aware of this unsaid hierarchy, which is like feudalism in a way. I also wasn't aware of how one is perceived because of their onscreen presence and characters."
Also read: Kritika Kamra refuses to play bystander
Despite these hardships, Kritika said her choices as an actor have always been guided by a clear sense of purpose.
Reaffirming her commitment to portraying strong, independent and progressive female characters on screen, Kamra remarked, "I'm a feminist. I say it proudly. I care about how women are portrayed onscreen. Even on TV, I stayed away from kitchen dramas or shows where certain regressive themes were glorified. I tried to do the more progressive stuff."
Pointing to her deliberate choice of roles, Kamra said, "It was something I had decided on very early in life. I'm conscious of it even when I do films and web shows. Even in my first film, 'Mitron', I wasn't a damsel in distress. I was a heroine with agency. But after that, I typically got offered a couple of films where I had two scenes and a song. I said no to those. I don't want to do just about anything to be a part of a big film."
On the professional front, Kritika was last seen in “Matka King”, directed by Nagraj Manjule, alongside Vijay Varma and Sai Tamhankar.
Kamra recently got married to sports commentator Gaurav Kapur in a private, registered ceremony in Mumbai.
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