Actor-producer Sohum Shah, whose folk horror film ‘Tumbbad‘ in 2018 was re-released recently, opened up about the much-debated nepotism in Bollywood. Talking to Pinkvilla, Sohum shared his experience as an outsider in the film industry and admitted that he still hasn’t mastered the art of networking—a crucial skill for surviving in Bollywood.
Sohum, a Sri Ganganagar lad from Rajasthan, spoke frankly about the disadvantages of the city boy versus the small-town actor.”Coming from outside Mumbai means starting from scratch, whereas actors who are born and brought up here get an undue advantage at the onset.”. “Jo Bombay se hoga wo 3rd lap se shuru karega kyunki usko angrezi bhaasha aati hai uske dost hain, use kabhi bhi emotionally home-sickness ya alone feel nahin hoga” (Someone from Bombay starts from the 3rd lap—they know English, have friends, and never feel emotionally homesick), Sohum commented.
He states that the natural understanding of the business, PR, and networking comes to actors from Mumbai as they grow up with it. However, it took him nearly a decade to understand how things work in Bollywood.
Though he’s been successful so far, Sohum confesses that, despite everything, networking is still something he cannot master. “Main aaj tak nahin seekh paaya hoon ki networking kaise hoti hai, mere bas ki baat hi nahin hai ki jaakar party mein khade hona (I still haven’t learned how to network. Attending Bollywood parties isn’t my cup of tea),” he confessed.
The actor is currently enjoying the praises he’s getting after the re-release of one of the best horror films ever made in Bollywood, ‘Tumbbad’.
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