Riya Sen: I’m more than just the sexy tag, not a bimbo actress

Jhankaar Beats star Riya Sen says she doesn’t mind being called sexy, but wants people to also recognise her work in Bollywood.

Riya Sen was only 19 when she bagged her debut Bollywood film, Style (2001) and today at 36, she has featured only in a handful of Hindi films. Having been part of films such as Jhankaar Beats (2003) and Apna Sapna Money Money (2005), Riya, right from the beginning has been offered ‘sexy’ roles, and the actor says she doesn’t want to do that anymore.

Actor Riya Sen was recently seen in the short film Lonely Girl where she plays a homosexual. (PTI)

“I never got the idea of the industry’s understanding of the word sexy. They always wanted me to wear a mini skirt or show some more cleavage. That’s not sexy. You are sexy when you have a strong personality. I don’t mind being called sexy, but I am much more than just that. Since my debut film, it has been like that, and that’s why I haven’t done a lot of Bollywood films,” says Riya.

The ‘sexy’ tag made the actor act in non-Hindi films. “I feel Bengali directors have offered me characters, which have a story to tell and not just impress people because of what I wear in the film. That’s the kind of roles I want to do. I am not a bimbo actress like some people out there have made me look like. The movies in Kolkata helped me prove otherwise,” adds the actor.

Riya’s latest stint with a Hindi project was with a short film, Lonely Girl, in which she plays a homosexual. She admits that she entered Bollywood at the wrong time, and things would have been different if she came into the industry now. “For starters, I was really very young when I came into films. I didn’t know much about the industry, or the people. Now, I am older and a bit mature, and I know what I want. More than that, I really think that the content in films are also changing and there are more character driven roles for actresses,” she says.

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