MUMBAI: Actor Sohum Shah has made a strong mark in the industry with his outstanding roles in projects like Maharani, Dahaad, Tumbbad and more but his love for art and his struggle to make it big in the industry has garnered a lot of attention and respect for the actor.

Sohum Shah opened up about his struggle producing the movie Tumbbad, the discrimination in the industry and much more.

Recently in an interview, when Sohum Shah was asked about whether or not he faced any discrimination in the industry, the actor said, “It’s definitely there and I think sometimes it’s not intentional but yet you have it in your mind because you are feeling that. I’m not a social person so I don’t hang out a lot and it takes time for me to open up. So I’ve faced a strange pressure and that too for a long time.”

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When asked if this was the purpose he took on the role of being a producer, Sohum said, “Yes, I’m producing because I’m not being offered the kind of roles that I want to do, The kind of stories I want to see are not being made. I think acting is the most fun job in the filmmaking process. You take time to prepare, you get pampered, even with 200-300 people working on the set, your face is always forward. I was asked once if as an actor I have any tantrums. I think as an actor I should be bending down to the people on the sets. There are light-man, spot boys, and what not. They are all working so hard. When a writer writes a script, it takes him1-1.5 years. It’s like your vehicle on which you will be travelling. So I think acting is the most fun job while production is the most thankless job in the industry. Producers don’t get credit for anything. A producer is just as equal a part as a director because he has invested everything, his journey is really long. So yes, I’m producing because the kind of work I want to do, I’m not getting to do it.”

On stating more about his job as a producer for his movie Tumbbad, Sohum Shah said, “When we were making Tumbbad we finished shooting in 2015, after which there were only 4 people in the office, me, my co-director Adesh, editor Sanyukta and a guy named Pranav who was watching over post-production. The crew had no idea when the movie would be released. People were saying that the movie is shut. I had to do so much at that time. I had no money so I sold my house, my car. There was a requirement of VFX and I wanted it from Sweden but they were’t picking up our calls. They didn’t know who we were, they had doubts on our credibility. I took a special entourage of 3-4 people to the Cannes Film Festival just to meet them. I had no other work in the festival, I had gone there just to meet the person and convince him to work on our movie. A lot of people told me that the movie deserved an Oscar award or that the movie should’ve been released in America. I had a tough time.”

Also read - Actor Sohum Shah on being responsible at an early age and facing language barrier, “When you have problems in your house, you mature at an early age.”

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