Surveen Chawla says actors need to gain weight for South cinema: 'I was told you are too thin, nothing would bounce'

Surveen Chawla reflected on her career, discussing challenges faced due to the 'TV actor' label, including losing roles.

Actor Surveen Chawla started her acting journey with television shows like Kahin To Hoga and Kaajjal, and later earned recognition for her performances in Punjabi and Hindi cinema. In a recent interview with Hauterrfly, Surveen spoke about losing roles due to the 'TV actor' tag and recalled being asked to gain weight to work in South cinema. (Also Read: Surveen Chawla: Discrimination because of gender is everywhere, come together as a community to being a change)

Surveen Chawla says she was asked to gain weight to work in South cinema.

Surveen Chawla lost films due to ‘TV actor’ label

Surveen discussed the label of 'television actor' and recalled losing films because of it. She remembered people telling her “you are exposed” and said, “I was told, don’t do this for some time. You should not be seen. You go down South, you need to put on weight; you come back here (to Hindi cinema), you need to lose weight.”

Surveen Chawla on being asked to gain weight for South cinema

When asked if actors really need to put on weight to work in South cinema, Surveen said, “Yes, I was told you are too thin, slim because you won’t have bosoms. Kuch hilega nahi (Nothing will jiggle), nothing will bounce. Now it’s done a little more sophisticatedly. In my time, they were not so sophisticated. They told me to my face, so I gave it back to their face.”

Surveen featured in popular television shows like Kasautii Zindagii Kay, Kahin To Hoga, and Kaajjal before making her Bollywood debut with the film Hum Tum Shabana in 2011. Over the years, she made her mark in Punjabi and Hindi cinema with films like Taur Mittran Di, Saadi Love Story, Singh vs Kaur, Hate Story 2, Parched, and more.

Apart from this, she has also been part of several popular web series such as Sacred Games, Decoupled, and Rana Naidu. She was most recently seen in the series Criminal Justice 4. The show also stars Pankaj Tripathi, Asha Negi, Shweta Basu Prasad, Mita Vashisht, and Zeeshan Ayyub, among others, in key roles. Directed by Rohan Sippy and produced by Applause Entertainment in association with BBC Studios India, the series is available to watch on JioHotstar.