Regina Cassandrra on Bollywood’s dark reality and how she was ‘put down’ for being South Indian

Regina Cassandrra on Bollywood’s dark reality and how she was ‘put down’ for being South Indian

• Regina Cassandra faced bias in Bollywood as a South Indian actress
• She dubs her own Hindi lines and strives for versatility in roles
• Regina says industry stereotypes women based on appearance

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Regina Cassandrra worked in Tamil and Telugu movies for more than ten years before making her Bollywood debut with Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga. The actress had said she pursued acting as a hobby when she was a teenager, but now it's her passion and profession. Regina says it seems like home, especially when she's on a movie set.

But it wasn't simple to break into the Hindi film industry. Regina has remarked that being termed a ‘South Indian actress’ made her feel like an outcast because of the prejudices that came with it.

She told the Hindustan Times that she can read, write, and speak the language well and has always dubbed her own Hindi projects. Regena said that she is proud of how she delivers her lines in her own voice and works hard to do a good job in every role she is given.

Even though she was fluent in the language, she said she wasn't immune to bias. She said, “ A lot of people treated me in a derogatory manner, not just with words, but with actions. It’s sort of a derogatory outlook towards me. And, I mean, anyone would be able to tell that I was being put down in a certain way. I did feel it. So I did have some inhibitions in the North. But, having said that, it’s not always the case, right?"

She claims that although she speaks Hindi well and can read, write, and dub in her own voice, she sometimes felt like other people had already made up their minds about where she came from.

The actress claimed that there were instances when she thought people were being mean to her, not just with words but also with minor acts and attitude. “I think as a woman in this industry, it’s very easy for us to be stereotyped. I mean, it’s only obvious because it’s a visual medium at the end of the day, and once you see something, it sticks in your head. But I’ve always wanted to be versatile. So, it is very difficult for me to pick and choose my films because I don’t want to always do mainstream commercial films," she said in the interview.

She said that those things made her a little scared when she first went to the North. Regina also says that not everyone she worked with was like this and that her employment afforded her some amazing opportunities.

Regina has been known for a long time for her work on Hindi movies like Rocket Boys and Farzi, among others.

She believes that because the market is based on photos, it's easy to categorize women into groups based on how they look.

Regina muses about how her views have changed since she started acting when she was 16 and is now in her mid-thirties. She thinks she's easygoing, but she knows that the stress of operating a business might stay with her without her knowing it. She has learned to cease doing things the same way and to accept change as it comes. She thinks that things are still getting better.