Mumbai: Many social media influencers have taken up acting as a new job and one of them is Kusha Kapila who is grabbing a lot of attention for her work. But is she worth it? There have been several actors who have called out influencers for turning into actors without talent and the latest one is Aahana Kumra. Aahana has been one of the most loved and talented actors and lately, in her interview, she spoke about the new change in the industry and the pressure that they have as actors due to the influencers upping their game on social media.
Aahana voiced out her worry in her recent interview with Hindustan Times, where she spoke about how there are influencers who are taking up overacting jobs and how it impacts actors like them who simply want to do their jobs. Aahana said,” 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”.
Aahana took a jibe at influencers and further 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”.
Aahana called the industry a brutal and difficult place for survival being an outsider,” It is a very brutal and difficult industry. It won’t give you a second chance as an outsider, though as an insider, you’d get 20-30 films to ruin before you figure out how to perform. Young kids from film families are being groomed from as early as they are five years old to be in the industry. It’s a bit clannish in today’s time. Soon, we will be lacking actors in our industry after a point in India. If you are being told to make a social media reel every day and dance to get cast, who’s going to act?”, concluded Lipstick Under My Burkha actress.
