Living with the tag of ‘sexy’ at a young age felt horrible: Riya Sen

Mumbai: Actor Riya Sen says being sexualised in movies and music movies at a younger age made her so uncomfortable that she determined to cease working in Hindi films.

Riya hails from a household of artistes that features her grandmother Suchitra Sen, mom Moon Moon Sen and sister Raima Sen.

She was simply 16 when she acquired her breakthrough in 1998 after she featured within the music video of Falguni Pathak’s music “Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi”.

Films naturally adopted, with director Bharathiraja’s Tamil romantic-drama “Taj Mahal” in 1999 marking her huge display screen debut.

Riya went on to star in Hindi movies, together with the 2001 sleeper hit comedy “Style”, Sujoy Ghosh’s musical drama “Jhankaar Beats” (2003) and Ajay Devgn’s “Qayamat: City Under Threat” (2003).

The actor stated when she started her Bollywood journey, she was excited how her selections have been paying off on the field workplace.

But with business success, the tag of being “bold” caught up.

“I realised a few of the movies I did, after a couple of hits that I had, they weren’t working for me as a result of I wasn’t snug within the roles I used to be taking part in. That’s why in all probability folks thought I used to be a nasty actress and I do not blame them.

“At that point when I did a lot of Bollywood movies, it was about being sexy, the clothes that you wear, the makeup that you do. I didn’t fit into that,” Riya informed PTI in an interview.

The 39-year-old actor stated that labels equivalent to “sexy” and “bold” made her really feel horrible.

“Getting these tags, it was simply horrible, horrible. Living with that… I used to be in class when the tag of ‘horny’ began coming method. There was a lot strain to at all times look excellent, a sure method.

“Even when I went out, people had this perception that ‘Oh Riya Sen’ because they feel what you’re on screen, you’re the same in real life.”

With time, the discomfort of becoming within the stereotype of a ‘Hindi movie heroine’ began to get on her nerves.

So, regardless of that includes in multi-starrers, together with “Apna Sapna Money Money”, “Shaadi No 1” and “Love Khichdi” between 2005-2010, the roles and the overarching emphasis on “looking glamorous” grew to become more and more powerful to deal with.

“Everyone desires to be glamorous, little doubt, however I used to be so younger once I got here right here. I used to be doing all these roles, carrying a mini skirt, operating round and appearing ‘cute’. When I’d watch myself on display screen I’d be like ‘eeks, I am unable to imagine that is me.’

“I found myself very uneasy, very uncomfortable. It wasn’t me. I couldn’t go on set everyday, get my hair curled for hours and sit with all that make-up. It just didn’t do it for me. I took a conscious decision to stop working in Bollywood movies at that time.”

But what was a loss for Bollywood, turned out to be a acquire for Bengali cinema.

The actor discovered acclaim in filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh’s 2011 interval drama “Noukadubi”,?based mostly on Rabindranath Tagore’s 1906 novel of the identical identify. She went on to work in different Bengali movies, together with Srijit Mukherji’s musical drama “Jaatishwar” and the romance-action “Hero 420” in 2016.

“In Bengali films, I played my version of glamorous, where I played a wide-ranging characters. I tapped into my potential in Bengali films, which I don’t think directors in Bollywood were able to understand. I played what they wanted. Today, I know what I can bring to the table.”

Riya stated what furthered her drive to do difficult roles was the emergence of streaming platforms.

Even although she had began to search out her area in Bengali movies, the actor stated she determined to not rush in and await the online collection area to blow up.

Since 2017, Riya has featured in each, Hindi and Bengali internet collection, together with Ekta Kapoor’s “Ragini MMS: Returns”, “Poison” and “Mismatch”.

She is presently seen on MX Player’s Mathura-set comedy “Pati Patni Aur Woh”, which chronicles the story of a middle-class man who finds himself battling with the ghost of his lifeless spouse in his second marriage.

Riya stated she is totally having fun with herself within the new part of her profession, the place internet collection have provided her the probabilities to dive into different roles.?

“I’m fitting into this world better than I did in the typical Bollywood formula movies. I’m not saying I’m no more open for Bollywood movies, but I’m very happy where I am. The web series also offers you tremendous space to do all kinds of roles,” she stated.