I was called a failure: Zareen Khan

In 2010, when Salman Khan launched Zareen Khan in Bollywood, she was often compared to Katrina Kaif. While her debut film ‘Veer’ was released with a lot of hype, Zareen had to go through quite a lot to get to the next phase of her career.

Recently, when Zareen appeared on Bharti Singh and Haarsh Limbachiyaa’s podcast, she revealed that her resemblance to Katrina was actually the biggest hindrance in her career.

On the podcast, Zareen spoke about her life after ‘Veer’ and said, “Life after ‘Veer’ was very bad for me as I got a lot of criticism. The film was a life-changing moment for me. Initially, I felt very happy that I was being compared to Katrina Kaif, but within the industry, things kept getting worse. For me, who used to be overweight, being compared to Katrina was huge, but it all backfired. I felt like a lost child in the industry, plus there was hesitation. I didn’t know most people here, but they started to feel I was arrogant because Salman Khan launched me.”

Zareen also revealed that she received a lot of harsh criticism and at one point, she thought about staying at home to get away from the noise. “There was a time I was even scared to step out of my house because people would comment on my clothes. That comparison went in a very negative way. I was given so many names, that at one point, I wanted to just sit at home. They all saw me as a failure,” she said.

Zareen said that this criticism affected the offers coming her way, but she couldn’t afford to stay home and thus, chose to take on projects that she was being offered. She shared, “I was not getting work for a very long time after ‘Veer’. Perception about me changed after the song ‘Character Dheela’ in ‘Ready’. That time, I was taking up whatever work was coming to me. I don’t come from a wealthy household. I am the sole breadwinner of my house, so at that time, I wanted a job to run my home.