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Hindustan Times

Dabba Cartel actor Anjali Anand says filmmakers are ‘not ready to cast her as lead yet' in movies

Anjali Anand has had an amazing last seven months with two back-to-back successes in Raat Jawan Hai and more recently Dabba Cartel. The actor admits that with her body type, it has been a struggle getting good roles but she is glad that it is finally happening. 'Everybody has a different struggle and obviously with my body, it's a little bit harder for people like me. I don't feel that I am any different but the society has created that perception. I believe I am very special and I don't feel like a bechari as it's about how you think of yourself,' she says. Anjali Anand insists that the West has learnt to look beyond the body size of an actor, but in India, it is still an issue. 'Adam Sandler is the biggest example. They call him egg-shaped, but he is wearing t-shirts and shorts and doing everything. Har type ke log hote hain, and wahaan accept kar liya hai ye. They don't have a problem there, but here they do,' she says. Recalling her early struggles, Anjali shares, 'When I came into this industry, people put this cloud in front of me that I am overweight. I came here to act and people forgot that. And I had to prove myself again and again to remind them. After I did (TV show) Dhai kilo Prem, people said that this is the only lead character I'm going to ever get, unless I lose weight. I was told to go underground for six months and come out thin. But in three months, I came back as a leading lady on the same channel.' She adds, 'I know in movies, makers are not ready to cast me as lead yet. I'm accepting that reality. Abhi tak makers are not ready to see me on a poster or dancing on songs. They're not ready yet, but they will be, I will make them ready. We need more people like Shibani Dandekar (producer, Dabba Cartel) and Sumeet Vyas (director, Raat Jawan Hai) who will get out of the comfort zone, and cast someone just on the basis of that what they can do with the character, not on any other basis.' After Dabba Cartel, Anjali came into the limelight with her story about facing molestation growing up connecting to a lot of people. But for the actor, this attention got a bit 'overwhelming'. 'I didn't expect for it to go so big and for people to reach out. I didn't know someone was interested in knowing it. I have been giving interviews for eight years, but no one cared. Now, suddenly they do,' she admits, adding, 'It takes a lot of guts to be vulnerable. But I think I'm all for it. I'm all for feeling my emotions as much as I can. They help me as an actor as well as a human being.'