Hina Khan represented the Indian entertainment industry at the prestigious Cannes film festival this year, for a consecutive time. It was indeed, a moment of pride for her fans seeing the actress rise to fame at a global event, and also for Hina, as she got to unveil the poster of her upcoming movie at the international event. Even last year, with the actress, making her Cannes debut, her appearance generated somewhat mixed reactions, from fans hailing her journey to some trollers, doing what they’re known to do the best!
It was even shocking to see many well-known personalities making fun of her red carpet appearance but kudos to the actress, for not letting the negativity come her way. Hina still outshined this year’s event, with much more elegance and poise. Talking about the same, Hina recently opened up in an interview about her experience of representing India on a global forum. She shared about the ‘elitism’ that still prevails in the industry, where people do look down upon actors from the TV fraternity.
She said, “Cannes changed things for me. I can’t deny that. Things did get a bit easier when it came to getting work when it came to meeting people. How they looked at me and how they greeted me changed. It also became easier in terms of getting designer stuff to wear. Of course, there are still many who have reservations, but many who did reach out to me and say that I could definitely reach out to them in terms of work.”
She continued, “I always look at the brighter side. I see that I am welcomed, and at the same time, it’s tough as well to create your own space. Sometimes, you may not even be allowed to enter a certain space so you have to create your own table and your own seat. It’s very difficult for me, given the background I come from. People still call me a ‘television star’ and not ‘an actor from India’. But I am happy with my journey”
To further explain this, Hina even shared an example of her personal experience at this year’s Cannes when the actress wasn’t even invited to the Indian pavilion opening ceremony, where other actresses and actors were present. She shared being ‘disheartened’ because of this. “I’ll just give you example – all of us (Indians) at Cannes belong to the same industry, we are from the entertainment business, we have all come here to represent India and I am very excited about the launch of the poster of my film. But there is this elitist system that exists. There was an opening ceremony at the Indian pavilion, which all my contemporaries attended,”
She continued, “And there weren’t just Bollywood actors there, there were singers, there were many well-known talents. It’s not that I envy them – I am so proud of them, but at the same time, it’s a bit disheartening that I wasn’t invited. I could have been there, in the audience at least, cheering for them when they were dancing. I loved that video, I felt so proud of my country, but at the same time, it’s disheartening” she said.
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Although she’s optimistic, she believes it’s a process that’ll take time. “No, it’s not enough. It will still take time. This elitist game still exists.”