‘I SHOULD NOT BE UPSET AND SIT AT HOME’
Actor Zareen Khan has decided to branch out to regional cinema instead of waiting for Bollywood projects
Even though she feels that Bollywood is caught in a web of perception about her as an actor and isn’t giving her ample opportunities, Zareen Khan says it isn’t a reason enough for her to simply sit at home. And she is making the most of the visibility she is getting through regional cinema.
The actor first featured in a Punjabi film Jatt James Bond in 2014. She recently did Telugu movie Chanakya and another Punjabi film, Daaka.
“Doing a Punjabi film is very different from a south film. My Telugu film was my very first experience in the south industry. It’s very disciplined and they get so much work done in such a short span of time. It was really fun working there, and I hope I do more films there,” Zareen says.
Having said that, she says Punjabi is a market she loves. “I love Punjabis. My best friends are Punjabis. They are such bighearted, happy-go-lucky people that work doesn’t feel like work. I remember on the last day of my shoot on my Punjabi film, we were crying,” adds Zareen.
She feels while Bollywood is sticking by a perception about her, maybe she needs to do something “really out-of-the-box to show them that I am capable too of being a part of their films”. While Zareen rues the lack of opportunities she got in Bollywood, she adds that “in the meantime, I don’t think I should be upset and sit at home”.
“Till the time my potential is recognised here [in Bollywood], I think I am very happy that the Punjabis and people from the south have recognised my talent and potential and are giving me that opportunity, and I’m really happy about it,” says Zareen.