Devoleena Bhattacharjee on Facing Rejections For Being TV Actor: ‘Discrimination Still Exists’

TV vs Bollywood: Actress Devoleena Bhattacharjee shared that she has faced rejection for films and the reason behind it was that she is a TV actor. Read on

Mumbai: Recently, at the Cannes Film Festival, Hina Khan opened up on facing discrimination for not being invited to the opening ceremony at Cannes 2022 Indian pavilion. She told Film Companion on the side-lines of the event that an ‘elitist’ attitude still exists in the industry, especially against ‘television stars’. Throwing light on the same, when asked another big TV star Devoleena Bhattacharjee, she said Hina was just stating the facts and revealed further that discrimination still exists. Devoleena recalled the time when she was rejected with a tag for being just a TV actor.

In an exclusive interview with IANS, Devoleena Bhattacharjee said, “There are two things… One what we say to stay politically correct, and the other is what we actually practice. These days, we get to hear people talking about the line being blurred between different platforms, be it TV, OTT, or Bollywood. But discrimination still exists and Hina was just stating the facts.”

The Saath Nibhaana Saathiya actor continued, “Even today when we go for an audition for a film, most of the time we get rejected with the tag `you are a TV actor`. All of us are working very respectfully and we have a steady fan base. But still, there is a practice of looking down upon TV actors.”

Devoleena went on to explain how for many new actors, such thoughts become worrisome as they fear that joining the TV industry as an actor might have an adverse impact on their careers. “Finding an opportunity becomes harder for actors like me, who have no background in the film and entertainment industry. Many tend to wait rather than work on TV shows because they that fear getting stereotyped might not fetch them a chance in the future to work in a Bollywood film,” Devoleena concluded.