Urmila Matondar says she has faced nepotism: ‘I didn’t speak about it as it would have been called case of sour grapes’

Urmila Matondkar didn't like how her performance in the song "Hai Rama" was credited to her "sex appeal" and her acting was given no due.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | January 30, 2022 06:21 PM IST

2 min read

Urmila Matondkar was last seen in a special dance number in the 2018 film Blackmail. (Photo: Urmila Matondkar/Instagram)

Urmila Matondkar, earned the title of the ‘Chamma Chamma’ girl of Bollywood after she danced her way into the hearts of cinephiles with her songs like “Rangeela Re” (Rangeela), “Chamma Chamma” (China Gate), “Kambaqt Ishq” (Pyar Tune Kya Kiya), “Tanha Tanha” (Rangeela) and others. But the actor, who has done a row of critically acclaimed films in her career, is unhappy how her performance in the song “Hai Rama” was credited to her “sex appeal” and not her acting prowess.

In a recent interview with The Times of India, Urmila questioned how only tear-jerking performances can be called good and what she did in “Hai Rama” was just “about sex appeal and nothing to do with acting.” The actor said that ‘Appearing sexy’ also demands acting. The actor, who turns 48 next week, recalled that in Rangeela’s reviews her clothes and hair found a mention, but nobody wrote a ‘decent’ word about her.

Also read | Urmila Matondkar on 18 years of Pinjar: ‘Wondering if the situation of women has actually changed’

Urmila hails from a non-filmy background. Her family had no connection in the film industry when she made her debut in the 1991 film Narsimha after appearing as a child artist in movies like Kalyug, Masoom, Dacait, and Bade Ghar ki Beti, among others. But it was not easy for the actor to make a place for herself in the competitive industry. Like many others, she too felt the brunt of nepotism in the industry but she never talked about it as she feared it would be viewed as “a ‘sour grapes’ attitude or ‘Nach na jaane aangan teda'”.

Urmila last featured in the song “Bewafa Beauty” in Irrfan Khan’s film Blackmail. She has movies like Pinjar, Bhoot, Ek Haseena Thi, Pyar Tune Kya Kiya and Kaun to her credit. In Satya, she held her own despite Manoj Bajpayee being the lead actor.

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