Aahana Kumra has completed a decade in showbiz and is certainly pleased about this milestone. However, she also appears to be quite concerned about the current state of the industry. In a recent interview with a leading media house, the actor - who made her on-screen debut with the TV show ‘Yudh’, starring Amitabh Bachchan - expressed her concerns about social media influencers taking over acting jobs and how this impacts those who simply want to focus on acting.
During the chat, Aahana also mentioned that being an actor has become more difficult today. “Clout and networking are the only things you are getting jobs through. A lot of actors are confused about how to navigate it as we are being told to be aggressively active on social media and get PR agencies. When I started, there wasn’t this kind of pressure to look a certain type on social media and keep doing reels and dance videos,” she said.
“A lot of casting today is happening based on social media followers. It’s very difficult and excruciatingly painful to get work in today’s time. Even filmmakers who you want to work with are moving towards people with social media clout, the so-called ‘influencers’. So, actors are left wondering, ‘Should I become an influencer and start dancing on social media to get a job? Should I start ranting, do mimicry or be like a Dilli ki aunty?’ Is this how you are going to get a job? Because I don’t think those people will be able to do anything more than that,” a disappointed Aahana pointed out.
Being an outsider was already a challenge for many, but with social media adding to the obstacles, it now seems to compound an actor’s struggles. The ‘Lipstick Under My Burkha’ star said, “It is a very brutal and difficult industry.”