Tina calls out assumption culture in Bollywood
Tina Desai has been missing from the Indian film scene for a while now. But, the Table No. 21 (2013) actor has built a rich repertoire of work in the West, with projects such as Sense8 and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel franchise. “I have not chosen to not work here,” she asserts. “After Table ,Igot Marigold and after that, Sense8. I was busy for fiveand-a-half years after Table. The pandemic took away a year and a half, which is why the long absence. But, I was working,” she adds. Desai did come to India between her shoots, but for just three-four months, and this wasn’t enough time to do work meetings, get selected and shoot. She explains, “Perhaps, a more established actor could work it out, but I am someone who had done just Table …Ihad to go through a proper selection process.”
Desai is now back with three big projects, including the recently released series, Mumbai Diaries – 26/11. But, the actor is struggling a bit, as people have assumed she has relocated from Mumbai and is not available for work here.
“There are so many people I had meetings with, and they were like, ‘Oh, you are back? I thought you relocated’. I have my family here, it is the city where I started. Why would I not want to do something here? Why will I give up the Indian film industry? There is a problem, but now, I have an agency which is telling people that I am here,” she shares.
Desai is waiting for the momentum of her career in India to pick up with her upcoming slate, which includes a web series and the film “Let’s see what happens,” she ends.