Never felt like an outsider in Bollywood, saysAmruta Subhash

The present narrative might imply strong feelings of aversion towards Bollywood, but not everyone finds this industry a big, bad place. Amruta Subhash is one such example. Content with her experiences in the Hindi film industry, the Marathi actor, however, does not deny that experiences may vary from person to person. “Entry is difficult, but till date the directors I’ve worked with have always been the ones to approach me, and not the other way round. Bollywood has been welcoming to me. I’ve never felt like an outsider here. I never had to face any bias or discrimination. But I won’t say it doesn’t exist. Like anywhere else, the industry is filled with good and bad people,” says the Gully Boy (2019) actor.

Sharing her experience of working with filmmakers Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar and Alankrita Shrivastava, Subhash, 40, says, “From the actor with the minimum screen time to the one with the maximum presence, everyone is treated with equal importance.”

Among the narratives that actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s demise has restarted, Subhash says the conversation around mental health must continue. “I’ve been taking psychotherapy for years... I never felt that I should be hiding anything,” she shares, adding that people in power should talk about it openly to get rid of the stigma. “After I opened up, many told me how my revelation encouraged them to not shy away from speaking up. Deepika (Padukone; actor) is doing such good work [on the subject]... I think we all must do our bit to address this growing concern,” she adds.