Tillotama Shome: I had to respond, not for the ‘flop actress’ bit, but for the ‘maid’ comment

Actor Tillotama Shome talks about a recent nasty comment on her by a social media user, and why even compliments can get deeply problematic sometimes.

Tillotama Shome has been winning hearts and awards alike for her performances in various films, but trolling on social media is something even she wasn’t spared from. The actor tweeted that a hater called her a ‘flop actress who looks like a maid’. Talking to us, Shome explains what compelled her to call out that troll.

Actor Tillotama Shome was recently declared Best Actress for the film Raahgir at South Asian Film Festival.

“So, I rarely get nasty remarks, at least I’ve not seen them. This one I had to respond to, not for the ‘flop actress’ bit, but for the ‘looks like a maid’ comment,” she clears, adding, “I felt this person gave me an opportunity to dialogue about our deep rooted biases around beauty, class and caste and its ugly intersections that gives birth to such casual utterances of hate and frankly stupidity.”

In fact, she goes on to assert that what people say about her acting skills doesn’t bother her at all. “I cannot help how you feel about me as an actor and actually I don’t care. But about this I care. This was meant to be an insult, so it was easier to respond to,” says the Sir and Angrezi Medium (2019) actor.

Trolls may try to bring her down, but wins like this one for Raahgir only cement Shome as a dependable actor.

On how much importance does she give to awards, she says, “I’m honestly very grateful to the jury but the news of winning an award feels like a movie within a movie. A bit removed from the reality of one’s life but yet grateful. Any win is a win for the whole team, no matter what the optics are. Filmmaking is a collaborative effort.”