Influencer-turned-actress Dolly Singh recently opened up about not getting work after ‘Thank You For Coming’ with Bhumi Pednekar. She also recalled facing rejections due to her body type and skin colour.
Directors and writers have specific visuals in mind
In conversation with Bollywood Bubble, Dolly explained that while no one directly tells you that your body, skin, or appearance is the reason for rejection, it can happen. She added that sometimes, directors and writers have a specific look in mind for a role, and if you don’t fit, you simply don’t get selected.She said, “I think the thing is now obviously everybody is placed a little safe. So koi tumhare muh pe nahi shayad wo aake mujhe nahi batayenge ki ‘Are tum zyada patli ho toh hum tumhe nahi le sakte’. Mujhe lagta hai ki bhi, theek hai, I also feel that off course for a particular role, there’s a particular visual, you know, that the writer, director, are thinking of. So I get it sometimes, you just don’t fit.”
Experiences of body-shaming on set
Elaborating futher, she added, “But ek baar, ek director ne ek baar mujhe bola tha ki ‘Yaar, ye daant thode, theek kara lo’. Toh yeh main sure hoon, yeh toh unhone mere munh pe us din bol diya. But main sure hoon, jahan main nahi hoon, un rooms mein toh hota hoga na, not just for me, main sure hoon, for everybody, ki ‘Yaar, ye thoda zyada mota hai’ ya ‘Yeh thoda zyada patli hai’. Isko nahi le sakte. Toh jo main feel karta hoon, har baar zaroori nahi hai ki wo cheez chale. Kyunki kuch roles mein woh factor matter nahi karta hai, as long as a person can pull off the character. I think that should be in fact.”
Struggles after her Bollywood debut
Dolly also spoke about not getting work after making her big Bollywood debut with ‘Thank You For Coming’ with Bhumi Pednekar. “With content creation and acting, it’s a double-edged sword, ki humein roles mil toh jaate hain, par wahi do minute ke roles milenge, jisme aapko wahi karna hoga jo aap normally apne Instagram pe karte ho, the same character. Aur phir aapko promotion ke liye bulaya jaayega, aur phir aapki following ko push kara jaayega. They will say ki ‘Aao, promote karo film ko.’ Toh ek thoda used bhi feel hota hai. Aur yeh bhi lagta hai ki ‘Yaar, theek hai, ismein mujhe maza aaya.’ Par ab mujhe kuch bada bhi karna hai na, acting mein, mujhe aur cheezein explore karni hain. Par woh exploration karne ko nahi milta hai,” she stated.She added, “Toh, Thank You For Coming, ke baad bhi mujhe koi aisi khaas, aise meri life nahi badli, aur woh nahi hua ki ‘Are bahut auditions aa rahe hain’ ya ‘Bahut opportunities aa rahi hain’. Nahi, aisa kuch nahi hai. Because wahi hai ki influencers ka ek stereotype alag ban gaya hai, ki ye yahi kar sakta hai.”
