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Zoya Hussain: For decades, we’ve served the male gaze
Updated On: 23 May, 2024 11:49 AM IST | Mumbai | Mohar Basu
Asserting that the industry has to take strides to enhance the portrayal of female characters, Zoya Hussain on why it took her a while to return to screen with Manoj Bajpayee’s Bhaiyya Ji
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Manoj Bajpayee and Zoya Hussain
Four days after Zoya Hussain watched Sirf Ek Banda did she get a call to star in Bhaiyya-Ji opposite Manoj Bajpayee. Hussain made her debut with Anurag Kashyap`s Mukkabaaz and then followed it up with Laal Kaptaan opposite Saif Ali Khan. "I was very intimidated when they called for this film. I wasn`t sure I could match his prowess. But when I met him, I realised he is very funny. This film is the rare time that I was on a set that was so happy. I really got a dream team to work with," she tells us.
But in the past seven years, despite a shining performance in one of Hotstar`s most-loved shows Grahan, Hussain has been branded as picky. When we sit down with her, we ask why it took so long to see her in a Bollywood film again. "It`s not that I am so picky. I think because of Mukkabaaz, I got stereotyped. It was assumed I would only do these types of roles. I am not from Mumbai or industry or modelling. All my opportunities come organically. Apoorv and Manoj sir saw my film, thought I am good, and gave me a call. I have turned down some commercial films because in many of those offered to me, the female character is an accessory. There was literally nothing to do. I don`t want to do such films because that`s not a narrative I wish to contribute to. I am not saying stories have to be female-oriented. But why can`t character driven good stories come to me. In this film, we haven`t revealed my character yet. But when people watch, they will get to know why this movie was fulfilling for me. The film is set in a small town but this isn`t an average subservient girl`s part."
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