Unlike common perception, the Hindi film industry is not an unfair place, says actor Emraan Hashmi, who believes one just has to roll with the punches to survive.
The actor next stars in Disney+ Hotstar's series "Showtime", which will provide a sneak peek into what goes behind the multi-million dollar industry of Bollywood, nepotism and the power struggles at the top.
Hashmi, who plays a studio head in the show, said Bollywood being a "bad or unfair" place is a perspective.
"It's the perspective of a person that is working here. If you have resilience, if you can roll with the punches, I don't think it's an unfair place. But if you're not willing to put in the hard work, hardships, heartaches when a film releases on a Friday...
"Everyone works hard but also there is a factor of the environment and luck. You have to be able to take it on the chin. It's a perspective of Bollywood more than what it is. I always say it's a very fair place. You just have to roll with the punches and keep pushing," the actor said during the series' trailer launch.
"Showtime", produced by Karan Johar's Dharmatic Entertainment, also stars Mahima Makwana, Mouni Roy, Naseeruddin Shah, Rajeev Khandelwal and Shriya Saran.
Johar, son of late filmmaker Yash Johar, recalled how his father was not given the respect he deserved at the time he was producing films back in the day.
"When my father was producing multiple films, in many ways, and sadly, was not given the desired respect producers should have been given.
"They were always kind of low on the food chain, because we depended on finances in those days, and put a lot at stake when you made a film. You needed to sell them to distributors. There was a lot of fear and anxiety... It was a very tough time," the producer said.
Over time, Johar said the job of a producer has evolved into being the captain of the ship, much like the director.
"There are two captains, I believe, of ships, a producer and a director," he added.
Regardless of the profession, people must be treated with respect, said Makwana.
"Something that I don't like, which is this biased behaviour... People treat you with whatever status that you are at and I think that's something that not only in our industry, just on human psychological change we need to bring about. We need to treat people as they are and not for their position," she said.
Roy said she has been subjected to stereotyping but has also been lucky to meet directors who could visualise her in different roles.
"It may be a fair industry, but I truly believe it is a very difficult industry. And along with hard work, it comes with a lot of challenges. There is the struggle that you cannot deny. There is no shortcut to hard work.
"I believe work begets work. When you are focused on a project, whether it's a dancing or an acting part, if you give your 100% and justify it, sooner or later you're going to land that next role. And, that's been the only mantra of my life," she said.
Saran said actors like Kareena Kapoor Khan and her "RRR" co-star Alia Bhatt have changed the definition of "comeback".
"When a hero doesn't do film for like a few years, they say, oh he has been missing from the screen for a while now. But when an actress doesn't do a film for a few years or months, they say it's a comeback. I don't know why it is like that. But, things have changed a lot and actresses like Kajol, Kareena Kapoor, and now Alia, they've changed the narrative.
"And for me, after having a baby, when I wanted to come back and do films, there was a bit of nervousness. I wasn't sure what it's going to be like. But thankfully, everyone I worked with, they were supportive and welcoming about it," she said.
"Showtime" will premiere on March 8. The series is created by Sumit Roy and showrunner Mihir Desai. Desai also serves as director along with Archit Kumar.
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