The Vogue cover of August featuring Suhana Khan, Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter, got a lot of media attention and backlash specifically regarding nepotism.
The problem everyone really had with the cover was that Suhana had yet to really do anything of value or matter that would justify her getting an entire cover to herself. And that the only reason she had gotten this Vogue deal, without doing practically anything was only because she is superstar SRK’s daughter.
Now, nothing against Suhana, but the argument is valid in regards to how extremely easy it was for her to get such a big deal without even lifting a finger, I mean, it’s not like she has a movie coming out, got an award in some other sector, or did something else that is inspirational.
Whereas for other struggling actors, even getting one simple job that sticks around and gives them the pay they were promised is difficult to come by.
This Twitter Rant
Bhumika Chheda, a Twitter user who according to her bio is a struggling actor, after seeing all the buzz over Suhana Khan’s Vogue cover, decided to put forth her opinion coming from the point of view of an industry insider.
Besides her tweets, Chheda also spoke about this matter and said that, “If she (Suhana Khan) had done a film, even if that film would have come to her because of who her father is, and then featured on Vogue I could have still understood.”
She also said how it could have been someone else who actually had some kind of achievement or work to their name that they could speak about, “I am not talking about nepotism, or I am not talking about why star kids are launched. All of that is there, it is going to happen, it has been prevalent since ages. But, my question is, it could have been anybody else? They just had to choose a person who could have shown us a little piece of their own work. All that person needed was to have something to her merit to feature on one of the best selling magazines in the country.”
“I understand they might need a popular face to sell the magazine but then why not choose someone from Bollywood itself? Someone who deserves to be on the cover,” she further stated.
Take a look at her tweets here:
I am a struggling TV actor and I'll tell you why people and other fellow struggling actors including me are annoyed because Suhana Khan is on the Vogue India cover. But before that, let me tell you my credibility. I have worked in a few episodics, 3 digital ads and a DD1 show.
— Bhumika Chheda (@IamBhumikaC) August 1, 2018
A normal struggling actor spends his/her/families (if new) money to travel EVERYDAY (almost) to various studios to ask for work. What happens when you are not dressed appropriately as per audition requirements? They ask us to come again another day.
— Bhumika Chheda (@IamBhumikaC) August 1, 2018
Nobody gives a rat's ass as to how you are feeling that day, ill, sick, okay, normal, abnormal, unhealthy, mentally ill, XYZ! It's a race and you got to be there standing in a queue waiting for long hours, perhaps even 4-5 hours because you got to. No excuse!
— Bhumika Chheda (@IamBhumikaC) August 1, 2018
What happens when you don't fit the bill (requirement) according to the casting director? They say words like either "rejected, you don't fit". Thankfully many casting directors these days are kind enough to convey their opinion politely. Or else, it is rude, its tough to deal.
— Bhumika Chheda (@IamBhumikaC) August 1, 2018
Imagine going everyday for a new test and getting rejected over and over again due to XYZ reasons. And trust me, the reason isn't talent ALL THE TIME. It varies.
— Bhumika Chheda (@IamBhumikaC) August 1, 2018
Thus! The reason I am annoyed is because when Suhana Khan had to step into the Vogue India office, nobody told her "you don't fit the requirement." To wake up each mrng with the same amount of motivation for the same agenda each day, every day, try that! I promise it isn't easy!
— Bhumika Chheda (@IamBhumikaC) August 1, 2018
Read More: Fanney Khan Stands Against Body-Shaming, Is It The Complete Reality?
Other Struggling Stories
It is not just Bhumika who has faced such kinds of things, since we all know how brutal the Bollywood industry can be, especially when getting the first step in.
Struggling doesn’t exactly have a time-limit and many people do it for years before getting that one chance that finally puts them in Bollywood.
A friend who is currently trying to enter the Bollywood industry told me some incidents that have happened with her and other struggling actors.
One of the most common ones that even Bhumika earlier stated was the constant rejection over the most menial of matters like looks.
Another can be that, even if you do get a movie after much toil and work, there is always a fear that it might not always work out till the end. An acquaintance of my friend had a Marathi movie coming out and everything seemed to be going smoothly, casting was being finalized, it even had a proper Muhurat event where other actors, media and all came.
But then the investor ran away and the movie never took off, which is something that seems to happen more often than not. So even if you do finally get a role, even then every day is spent in fear whether your movie will even see its first day or not.
Another story they told was how these 2 struggling actresses almost got scammed by a fake company which took about Rs. 13,000 and promised how they will get them roles, etc.
But then they almost ran off with all that money, however, they were able to recover it with multiple threats of police and complaints to one person they managed to find of that company.
Don’t really know how many other struggling actors they took money from and the sad part is that they give this money too because they are too desperate for work and they are not exactly intelligent enough or know the industry that well to understand the difference between fake and genuine.
My own friend had to put her acting dreams on hold because she had to do a job in order to earn the money to sustain herself in a place as expensive as Mumbai. Even then, they told me about how while at the open auditions for Yash Raj one time, they stood out in the heavy pouring rains for 2 hours along with several other actors, soaking, and this was just the line to get inside the building. Then another hour when they did get inside the building and all this for just a 10-second audition.
Another story that another person from the Bollywood industry revealed was how their acquaintance had auditioned for the negative lead opposite Tiger Shroff in Student of The Year 2 that is coming out next year in 2019.
He was rejected because as they said he was ‘over-performing’ and was ‘Tiger se bhi achcha kar rahe ho’. According to them, the casting director said that ‘aapko nai lenge, aap to over-perform kar rahe ho. Sir thoda kum’. Basically, that actor was rejected simply because he was a better actor than Tiger and they didn’t want someone out-performing their main lead itself.
Thus, when you hear all such kind of stories, the fact that Suhana Khan got a Vogue cover without doing anything, literally anything, then it makes it all seem even more unfair.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: News18
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