Ratna Pathak Shah says she has been ‘unemployed for a year’: ‘Nobody approached me for work because I’m not on Instagram’

Ratna Pathak Shah, known as one of the finest actors of Indian cinema, recently revealed in an interview that she has been unemployed for a year now. The actor, currently at Cannes Film Festival, highlighted how in the era of Instagram, the work offered to an actor is based on the number of their social media followers.

Ratna, in an interview with Brut, was asked if looks are more important than an actor’s craft, to which, Ratna said, “Yes, the answer is simply yes.” The Sarabhai vs Sarabhai star further said, “I don’t know how to blame actors for that because these are the things that are asked and are focused on. Depending on the number of followers, people are getting work today. That is what I have heard. Nobody approached me for work because I am not on Instagram, so maybe can than be a reason possibly. I have been completely unemployed for a whole year now. So these are the kind of things that do seem to matter a lot. What to do also? Where will someone go and learn acting from if they want to learn the craft? It’s quite difficult.”

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Ratna was recently seen walking the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival with the team of Manthan that was screened at the prestigious film festival. Unlike other stars, Ratna opted to wear her own saree at the film festival which she paired with a bespoke himroo blouse and a jacket. She accompanied her husband and actor Naseeruddin Shah, along with late actor Smita Pathak’s son Prateik Babbar.

The 66-year-old actor first got noticed she appeared in the Doordarshan serial Idhar Udhar. She was later appreciated for her work in Filmy Chakkar as well. It was with the TV show Sarabhai vs Sarabhai that she shot to fame, where her character Maya Sarabhai attracted a cult following.

Ratna has also worked in the films Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na (2008), Golmaal 3 (2010), Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu (2012), Khoobsurat (2014), Kapoor & Sons (2016), Lipstick Under My Burkha (2017). She was last seen in Dhak Dhak (2023).