EXCLUSIVE: Sumbul Touqeer ADMITS People Are Blackmailed, Face Casting Couch In TV Industry; States, “Newcomers Ke Saath Bahut Zyada Fayda Uthane Ki Koshish Karte Hai”

Popularly known for her role in Imlie, Sumbul Touqeer spoke candidly about the darker realities of the entertainment industry. In an exclusive conversation with Bollywood Bubble, the actress opened up on casting couch experiences faced by newcomers, including unrealistic beauty standards imposed on actresses. She also shared her thoughts on how the industry often highlights body weight and skin colour instead of truly normalising diversity. Scroll down to read more.

Sumbul Touqeer Opens Up On Casting Couch

Speaking about the issue of casting couch and the experiences many young actresses face in the industry, Sumbul Touqeer said, “Being an actress, I would say ki pehle I was naive and young, and my dad used to be there everywhere. But when I was 16, I did Imlie, toh uss time pe ek naam ban gaya ki chalo Sumbul Touqeer is someone. After that, I don’t think maine aisa kuch face kiya. Toh pehle I had Papa as my support everywhere — every shoot, sets, parties, everywhere. And now people know me, so I don’t think ki abhi aisa kuch hone ke chances hai. Aise log panga nahi lete hain because joh newcomers hote hain unke saath bahut zyada fayda uthane ki koshish karte hain, which is completely wrong.”

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Sumbul continued, “Pata nahi yeh bol kyun nahi paate log. Kabhi-kabhi aisa hota hai ki bol dete hain, lekin kuch action nahi le paate hain. So this is a very wrong area, joh industry mein hota hai, and iska solution kya hai woh toh pata nahi kya karoge. Kabhi-kabhi blackmail bhi kiya jaata hai because phir kuch log feel karte hain ki ‘she is problematic’, ‘yeh problems create kar rahi hai toh yeh hamare set pe bhi karegi’, then why would you want such a person on our set? So this is a very wrong area in the industry, so I don’t exactly know how to talk about it.”

Sumbul Touqeer Reacts To Shows Focused On Dark-Skinned, Overweight Girls

Reacting to Supriya Pathak’s comments about beauty standards in the entertainment industry making actresses appear similar, Sumbul Touqeer commented, “TV industry mein normalise karne ki koshish ki ja rahi hai. Agar koi story hoti hai about a girl who was a little overweight, toh uske weight ke upar poora show bana diya jaata hai. But that’s not normalising it, that is highlighting it. At the same time, dark-skinned girls ke liye bhi shows aaye hain, but that is also highlighting it, not actually normalising it. Normalise hum, I think, real life mein zyada kar sakte hain. Then only it will become normal in the industry and everywhere else.”

Watch The Full Interview Here

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Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Sumbul Touqeer Calls Trolling, Online Hate During Childhood ‘Traumatising’; Shares, “It Is A Little Easier When You Grow Up”

Sonali Singh

Sonali Singh watches films like it’s a job (and honestly, it kind of is). Currently pursuing her Master’s in Communication and Journalism, she lives somewhere between deadlines and movie scenes. If it’s Bollywood, she’s already invested—films, drama, and all the gossip included. When she’s not writing, she’s either dancing her heart out like no one’s watching or trying to mimic people, proving that not all talents are meant to be discovered.