‘Don’t want people to think I’m being overfriendly’
She started her career about a decade ago with the Salman Khan-starrer Veer (2010). And actor Zareen Khan has come a long way since then. She says her journey was one without any support or backing.
“When I stepped into this industry, I had no idea what I was going to do… I don’t belong to a film background, so I was a lost soul in Bollywood,” recalls the 32-year-old, who has been part of films such as Housefull 2 (2012) and Hate Story 3 (2015).
She adds, “It’s going to be 10 years in 2020. I’m still surviving, and have done quite well without a lot of friends here or major contacts. I made it on my own this far. I’m happy working in Punjab, south, and Hindi [films], and I’m quite satisfied.”
We focus more on Zareen mentioning she doesn’t have many friends in the industry. Has that changed over the years, or does she, too, believe that actors can’t be friends?
“We see actors who are all such good friends, hanging out with each other all the time. Somehow, my friends are still from college and school, who have known me forever. They treat me like the Zareen they knew before. So, I don’t need to have any inhibitions, because I’m a person with no filter,” explains Zareen, whose next is a Punjabi film.
Being an outsider, the actor only had one apprehension about approaching industry people — she didn’t want to come across as clingy. She says, “Actors [who are my friends] are people who have known each other [for long]; the friendship has not developed overnight. I don’t know how to get into that. I am not somebody who would force myself or try to make anybody feel ‘Why is she being overfriendly?’ I don’t want to come across as that as I’m not that person.”
Rishabh Suri