Hina Khan on playing Akshara: 'wasn’t easy to break through or break that image or stereotypes that came with it'

Hina Khan opens up about her journey from being the favourite TV bahu to finding a space in films. She has completed 12 years in the profession.

Actor Hina Khan has completed 12 years in the industry and said it has been a fruitful journey, adding that she is happy with her choice of projects. Hina has worked in fictional and reality TV shows, as well as movies.

Hina Khan bagged the role of Akshara soon after completing her MBA in 2009. (YouTube)

Hina first rose to fame with her role of Akshara in Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai in 2009. She also appeared on Salman Khan's reality show Bigg Boss 11 in 2017 and was the first runner-up as Shilpa Shinde won the winner's trophy. Soon after her Bigg Boss stint, Hina walked the red carpet at Cannes Film Festival and her film, Lines, was also screened at the prestigious festival.

Talking about her most popular character, Akshara, Hina told Times of India, “When you take up a project, you never think about how it would turn out later. I know I started with Akshara, and she became larger than life and I am so proud of it. I did it for eight long years and considering how it works now, it is very difficult for actors to continue doing a show for such a long time. But 'Rishta' is still doing great, it feels nice to know that it is doing so well whether I am a part of it or not."

She added, "Of course, I would not deny that I got a huge opportunity to work in a show where I played such an iconic character. But when I left TV, it was not an easy journey. It wasn’t easy to break through or break that image or stereotypes that came with it, you get typecast. The longer you do, the more typecast you get. And I had done it for the longest time, so it was very difficult to break that bahu image and come out as a fashionista. But I didn't give up, you just have to work here."

Elaborating on her journey from TV to films, Hina said her journey has ben amazing. She was seen in three films in 2020 - Hacked, Unlocked and Smartphone.

Hina, who also holds an MBA degree, has also been dating the show producer Rocky Jaiswal since 2017. Recently, she talked about introducing him to her parents. “Just when my parents had gotten used to me being an actor, I told them I was seeing Rocky. It came as a shock; everybody in our family has had arranged marriages. But I gave them time & now, they love him more than me!” she said in an interview.