Hina Khan: Bollywood looks down upon TV actors

MUMBAI: She did television for over a decade and has featured in Hindi films, but actress Hina Khan fails to understand why small screen stars are looked down upon in Bollywood.

Talking about why there is hardly any bond between Bollywood and the small screen industry, Hina told IANS: "Well, we are ready to work if given an opportunity. I am not the right person because I come from both the mediums. I have done theatrical films, I have done digital (films) and then I have done television for the longest time."

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"So, I am somewhere in the middle and I can speak on both the cases. What I see after all these years is that we (TV stars) are looked down upon. I don't know why," she added.

Hina even made a debut at the Cannes Film Festival last year, following which there was criticism about her appearance from sections of the media. "For me, I always mentioned things change because I hit the Cannes (red) carpet. I set an example for television. It became huge news and then other things happened. The whole industry came together and fought for me. But why are we looked down upon? I just don't get it," she said.

Hina, who rose to fame with her performance as Akshara in the show "Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai", added: "I walked the carpet and some stupid comparison is done. Why? Had it been some film star's son or daughter it wouldn't have happened. It gives a clear sign that they look down upon us."

But why does she feel TV actors are looked down upon, even though the medium has given actors like Shah Rukh Khan and the late Sushant Singh Rajput, among others? "Television actors are trained differently. We work in stressful conditions, unlike films. I have done films. I know how films are shot, how comfortable and how much effort and training goes on before shooting starts. That does not happen in television. We are given a bunch of scripts every day," she said.

Hina added: "You got to learn your lines, come on sets, there is so much stress. That doesn't happen in films. Maybe, that way our training is better because we are ready to shoot for 18 hours at a stretch. We can deliver 10 pages in one go when it comes to realistic performance and television. I have always mentioned it is over the top, when it comes to performance."

Despite such demands of TV acting, Hina said: "That does not mean we cannot do it (films). Maybe we need certain training, maybe we also need a film to understand ‘that oh my god, I need to do this a little subtle. I need to improve here'. But that opportunity is not given to us."

"If a film is given to us), we are judged upon that film," she said, of the plight that TV actors often face when they try out acting in films.

She urged for a "fair chance" for television actors. "We are not given 10 films. Anyone who is a star kid, they have the backing of 10 films. They get one film and they understand their flaws, (in the) second film they do a little better, (in the) third film they get an award, and the fourth film they are the best actors," she summed up.

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