Hina Khan says TV actors are discriminated against in Bollywood: ‘We don’t get a fair chance’

Hina Khan, who started her acting career in television before moving to films and the digital space, said that television actors do not get their due in the film industry.

Hina Khan, who rose to fame with the popular serial Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai before making her foray into films and the digital space, feels that television actors are discriminated against in the film industry. She called for equal opportunities for television stars to prove themselves in Bollywood.

In an interview with IANS, Hina opened up about nepotism and said that it exists in other industries as well. “If you are a star and you want to launch your kid, it’s absolutely okay. But, it is not fair when you don’t give an equal chance to outsiders. TV actors hardly make it big in Bollywood, just because we don’t get a fair chance. At least, give us a chance to prove ourselves.”

Last year, Hina went to the Cannes Film Festival with her debut feature film, Lines. She said that she was not given the respect and appreciation that is given to movie stars. “I don’t know why people in India look down upon TV actors. I remember how international designers helped me instead of Indian designers, during my Cannes debut,” she said.

Hina played Akshara in Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai from 2009 to 2016, and became one of the most popular television actors. She also participated in Khatron Ke Khiladi 8 and Bigg Boss 11, finishing as the runner-up in both reality shows. She also played Komolika in the Kasautii Zindagii Kay reboot but quit the show last year. Earlier this year, she was seen in the films Hacked and Unlocked.

After remaining indoors during the lockdown, Hina recently returned to work. While she is yet to resume shooting, she dubbed for one of her projects and documented the experience on Instagram. She said in her Instagram stories that she felt extremely unsafe about being in the studio as she could not even wear a protective mask.

“I sanitised everything around before I began...tried dubbing with the mask on but that’s not how it works. As an actor, either I do it with full dedication or I just choose not to do it... I tried to maintain a distance from the mic and dubbed..but guess what, it didn’t work. I was told my voice is not clear. I realised it’s so unsafe to inhale and exhale so close to the microphone… God knows how many of them have dubbed in the same studio before me… God knows who amongst them was a carrier, God knows if some droplets still remained on the microphone,” she wrote.