Zareen Khan claims Bollywood is ‘sticking by’ their perception about her, tries her luck in regional cinema

Zareen Khan has featured in a Telugu film Chanakya and Punjabi film Daaka. She says she’s not getting enough work in Bollywood and this isn’t reason enough for her to sit at home.

Just because she feels the Hindi film fraternity is caught in a web of perception about her range as an actor and isn’t giving her ample opportunities, isn’t reason enough for Zareen Khan to simply sit at home. She is making the most of the visibility she is getting through regional cinema.

Zareen Khan wishes to do more work in Telugu film industry.

The actor, who first featured in a Punjabi film Jatt James Bond in 2014, and she recently featured in a Telugu movie titled Chanakya, and also in a Punjabi film Daaka.

On her experience of working outside Hindi cinema, Zareen says, “Doing a Punjabi film is different, a southern film is different. My Telugu film was my very first experience in the southern film industry. It’s an amazing industry. It is very disciplined and they get so much work done in such a short span of time. It was really fun working there, and I hope I do more films there.”

Having said that, she says Punjabi is a market she loves. “I love Punjabis. My best friends are Punjabis. They are such big-hearted people, such happy-go-lucky people that work doesn’t feel like work with them. I remember on the last day of my shoot on my Punjabi film, we actually had tears and we were crying [because of the bonding],” adds Zareen, who has more projects coming up.

She feels that while Bollywood is “living by or sticking by” a perception about her, maybe she needs to do something “really out-of-the-box to show them that I am capable too of being a part of their films”.

While Zareen rues the lack of opportunities she has got in Hindi showbiz, she she adds that “in the meantime, I don’t think I should be upset and sit at home”.

“People are recognising my talent in different cinema, so why not? Till the time my potential is recognised here [in Bollywood], I think I am very happy that the Punjabis and people from the south have recognised my talent

and potential and are giving me that opportunity, and I’m really happy about it,” says Zareen, who recently attended an international film festival in New York.

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