Reem Shaikh On Facing Rejection Due To Less Followers: ‘Acting Acchi Hai But...'

News18

27-06-2025

Last Updated:
Reem Shaikh got candid about her journey in Television and made revelations about the dark side of the industry.
Reem Shaikh has been winning hearts with her culinary skills and hilarious punchlines in the cooking-based reality show, Laughter Chefs: Unlimited Entertainment Season 2. Starting her career as a child artist, the actress has appeared in a number of shows and music videos. During an interview, the 23-year-old got candid about her journey in Television and made some revelations about the dark side of the industry.
Speaking to Bharti Singh and Haarsh Limbachiyaa, the actress recalled the time she was rejected for a show for having fewer social media followers. 'Producers these days debate whether they should pick a specific artist because they have more followers and reach. They talk about actors with more or less followers. Those with whom I have close relationships have told me how much pressure they feel during casting. Some also rejected me, saying, 'Aapki acting acchi hai, but woh actress ke fans aur reach aapse zyada hai.' I was told this was for a web show," Reem stated.
Talking about the struggles an outsider needs to face in Mumbai, she mentioned, 'I am from Mumbai, and I know that my mother is standing next to me. If I'm rejected, I can go back to my mother and share my sadness. However, people who come from different towns and live separately from their families. This would be extremely tough to handle. You must be emotionally and mentally strong to handle such rejections. In this industry, you must be practical because rejection is normal."
She even shared her experience of working in the film industry saying that female leads barely get time to breathe. She added, 'Unless and until you are a major star who can demand 8 hours of work, perform just close-ups and let the body double do the master shots. You need to get to that level, but I'm still not there. People didn't understand I was working so hard on TV, and I wouldn't have been able to balance it. I picked that path because I was happy and fulfilled."
Reem also added that her father used to taunt her for not making videos on social media when it was booming. She said, 'Even my father used to mock me for not tapping into that when all of these social media handles were booming. But no one knows that I used to film for 12-13 hours every day and then travel for 4 hours; how would I have time to create reels and videos?"
The actress has appeared in shows like Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha, Devon Ke Dev Mahadev, Diya Aur Baati Hum, Chakravartin Ashok Samrat, Tujhse Hai Raabta, Tere Ishq Mein Ghaayal among others.
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