"I will not leave this industry." Gurmeet Choudhury opened up about his struggle for recognition in the film industry due to Bihari stereotypes.
📹: Digital Commentary
📹: Digital Commentary
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Even if I don't act, I'll open a canteen in Film City.
00:04You don't look like a Bihari.
00:06How can you be from Bihar?
00:08I am a Bihari, so I look like this.
00:10I was a 4-5 year old face.
00:12I used to run around a lot.
00:14Kali, Kali, Kali, Kali
00:16Kali, Kali, Kali, Kali
00:17There's a saying about you
00:19that whenever people know that you're from Bihar,
00:21they don't even look at you.
00:23I want to know, have you heard comments like this about yourself?
00:27This is a very common question that people ask me.
00:32They even say that you don't look like a Bihari.
00:35How can you be from Bihar?
00:37That's why if you see,
00:39for the past few years,
00:41in every interview, everywhere,
00:43I say that I am from Bihar.
00:45Why? Biharis don't look like this.
00:47I am a Bihari, so I look like this.
00:49So people have made a perception
00:51that Bihari people don't know how they look.
00:53How they are.
00:55And it often happens that
00:57a small percentage,
00:59now it's much better,
01:01they feel shy to speak Bihari.
01:03So it's not their fault.
01:05In our past,
01:07where Bihar didn't have such a name,
01:09people felt shy.
01:11We are intelligent people,
01:13hardworking people.
01:15The best thing about Bihar is
01:17that we work very hard.
01:19And if you know the direction,
01:21if you know that you have to reach this destination,
01:23I am a Bihari.
01:25I am like this.
01:27Bihari people are like this.
01:29They are of all types.
01:31We are humans too.
01:33When you come from Bihar to Mumbai,
01:35initially you had no connection,
01:37no identity, nothing.
01:39What year did you come here?
01:41I came here in 2003.
01:43I was about 17-18 years old.
01:45I gave the 12th board.
01:47I didn't even take the result.
01:49And I came here.
01:52I came to Mumbai.
01:54I came here for an acting course.
01:56I always wanted to become an actor.
01:58My preparation was going on since childhood.
02:00If I reach Mumbai,
02:02I could visualize
02:04that I am in Mumbai
02:06and what will happen,
02:08how will I do it.
02:10I had a thought in my mind
02:12that if I study and graduate
02:14and then it will take 3-4 years
02:16to understand the industry,
02:18then I will be like this for 30 years.
02:20I won't be able to act
02:22or do any other work.
02:24If I learn this craft
02:26at the age of 16-17,
02:28practically, on the set,
02:30then I will be able to do something.
02:32I had a lot of confidence
02:34that I will definitely
02:36be able to do something.
02:38Even if I don't act,
02:40I will open a canteen
02:42in Film City.
02:44I will do something in the industry.
02:46I won't leave the industry.
02:48I used to be famous
02:50for all the actors.
02:52All the ads used to be made there.
02:54I went there on the first day
02:56and distributed my pictures everywhere.
02:58On the same evening, I got 3 calls
03:00for the ad.
03:02I started shooting from the next day.
03:04Of course,
03:06it was not a very main lead ad.
03:08But I wanted
03:10to go on the set
03:12and learn about the lighting,
03:14how the actor speaks in his dialogues,
03:16and what the camera facing is.
03:18For the first time,
03:20people saw me in Ramayana.
03:22But very few people know
03:24that I used to do TV
03:26for 4-5 years before Ramayana.
03:28I used to play small roles
03:30like a waiter,
03:32a friend of the main lead,
03:34or a two-day job.
03:36I used to run around
03:38for 4-5 years.
03:40When I got Ramayana,
03:42I knew what I had to do.