‘Bollywood a close buisness minded industry’, Says Jawan actress Ridhi Dogra

New Delhi: Popular Television actress Riddhi Dongra is all set to be a part of one of the biggest movies of the year Jaawan.

The 38-year-old actress, who is known for her captivating acting on Television serials and OTT shows recently stepped up her game by making her debut in the glamorous Bollywood industry with Lakadbaggha in January 2023.

Even though the movie completely underperformed at the Indian Box office, it was recently selected for screening in the 20th edition of the prestigious Indisches film festival that is all set to kick start by the end of the month in Germany’s Stuttgart.

Speaking on the same, Dongra took a jab at the Tinsel town industry saying that In India, good content is not noticed until it gets appreciation from overseas.

Bollywood a Lazy Industry?

While the actress looked excited about her movie’s upcoming release at the film festival this month, she also didn’t step back from criticising Bollywood and went on saying, “There’s a certain laziness in this industry. People don’t see talent for what it can be, they see it for what it is. It is sad and embarrassing. We don’t have the conviction to use talent. We need people from around us to tell us, ‘Arrey isme kuch baat hai’. The moment that happens, we are convinced to put our money on them safely.”

Recalling the hardships she faced in the unforgiving industry, the Asur actress said, “I face challenges all the time. Playing a role onscreen isn’t the challenging part, but figuring things off camera is a task. You want to act, but you have to be a marketing person, too. During this process, you also realise that the film industry which claims to be a creative field is actually such a closed setup and business-minded. Especially when there is big money involved, makers want to put money on actors they are comfortable with, because they feel that particular star would listen to them.

Ridhi’s Take on Generalisation in industry

She also spoke about how some people in the industry generalise new actors saying, “Ye to TV actor hai” (he is just a Television actor).

She further condemned the Judgmental nature of the industry saying that it is wrong to generalise people for coming from a particular platform.”If one is an actor then he/she belongs to every acting platform”, she added.

Talking about the lack of guidance and support she felt during her early days in the industry, Ridhi said, “I never had people guiding or telling me ki, ‘Yeh 10 film aa rahi hai. I literally have to run after people and make them see the potential in me. It’s embarrassing because you may feel that your work should speak for you, but it’s a different game in Bollywood.”

Ridhi’s work front

On the professional front, Riddhi is looking forward to the release of her debut venture Lakadbggha in the 20th edition of the film festival that is scheduled to be held in Germany later this month.

Following that, the actress will be sharing the screen with Megastar Shah Rukh Khan in his upcoming magnum opus Jawaan.

She is also a part of Salman Khans’s highly ambitious Tiger 3 which is the fifth installment of YRF’s spy verse. The movie will hit the big screens on 10 November.