Pooja Bhatt: Give the girls their due, or keep talking nepotism

As Big Girls Don’t Cry launches seven fresh faces, Pooja eager to see whether audiences put their opinions into action and back new talent

It’s joyful to play a principal who encourages her students’ individuality. The feeling is further heightened when you’ve been a rebellious youngster in your growing-up years. Which is why Big Girls Don’t Cry, set in an all-girls’ boarding school, was an easy yes for Pooja Bhatt. “I went to a wonderful school in Mumbai that focused on character [building]. But I was also the kid who’d bid goodbye to her cousins going to boarding school. So, I felt deprived of that experience. When Sudhanshu Saria [co-director], with whom I’ve done Sanaa, called me for Big Girls Don’t Cry, it was a tick for me. The big tick was my role. I have been thrown off sometimes for speaking my mind and being a rebellious young star in Bollywood. [In my early years in the industry], we were told that if we wanted to make it big, we needed to keep our opinions to ourselves. So, I thought, ‘Wow! I get to be a principal [who can teach the girls otherwise],’” she begins.

To share screen space with seven newcomers—Avantika Vandanapu, Dalai, Akshita Sood, Lhakyila, Afrah Sayed, Aneet Padda and Vidushi—filled Bhatt with several emotions. The actor felt protective of them, and in awe of their unaffected nature. She says, “I had a responsibility to make them feel secure because when I did my first film at 17, the senior actors would stay back to give me cues. These are things we carry forward. These girls aren’t tarnished by the baggage and bullshit of Bollywood, which will tell them, ‘Now, we can [groom you] to get you [more films].’ I hope they have the capacity to turn around and kick them hard where it hurts.” 

Through the Prime Video series, creator Nitya Mehra has given showbiz new actors filled with potential. Bhatt highlights that for all the debate on nepotism, this is a chance for people to put their opinions to action. “I am sick and tired of this ridiculous conversation about people not getting their due in the entertainment business. We’ve launched many new girls, they represent the future. Now, the world can decide whether they want to put their money where their mouth is and give these girls their rightful due, or they want to sit behind their computer screens and keep talking about nepotism. [Some of those crying foul] don’t have the capacity to admit that maybe they didn’t have it, that’s why they didn’t make it [in films].”

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