Amruta Khanvilkar addresses the stigma associated with being a Marathi actor: ‘A lot of people sometimes think I am not approachable’

Also Read: Amruta Khanvilkar: I can do more than just glam roles

She added, “When I did action for the first time, it felt so liberating. In a Neeraj Pandey series, one female does amazing stunts. I am so glad I got this opportunity. On my first day performing stunts, I punched a stuntman, and my entire hand was swollen. This happened on 21^st November, two days before my birthday. The injury was so bad that it hurt a lot. Initially, I didn’t realize, but then Emraan sir told everyone. However, having played this role, I feel fearless.”

Talking about Space Gen, Amruta said, “With Space Gen, the world was so different. In shows like these, lots of research goes into the writing. I was fortunate that I got to read some of it and learn what pressures scientists actually go through.”

On facing stereotypes in the industry

Having spent decades in the industry, Amruta Khanvilkar has certainly learned the tricks of the trade. While she acknowledges that things are changing, the actress admits she still faces stigma at times. “In all these years, I have realized that one should treat every project as their first and not expect anything. We often feel like a certain project will take us somewhere and turn the tables for us; sometimes it happens, and sometimes it doesn’t. Being an artiste is just your job; you cannot make it your entire life. Opportunities come and go. I was neck deep in promotions for my play, and Taskaree came my way. When things are meant for you, they happen,” Amruta said.

She added, “I still face some stigma. I often get to hear that you are a Marathi actor. So what? I will work somewhere right. I just ignore it now. You will be told that you are over exposed or that you come with baggage because you are a star on TV. These things get told; it’s like the remark about being from the Marathi industry, there is no end to this. Some actors chose to speak about it, I choose to ignore it.”

 

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Despite these lingering biases, Amruta feels the entertainment industry has come a long way. “And I think this generation of actors has become very accepting. Earlier, there were so many norms and restrictions, like a female artiste’s career ends once she gets married, it was believed that if you played a secondary character, you would never get a main lead role offered, but that’s never the case. Another myth was that if you have done TV, you cannot do films. With time, all these norms have changed. As a female artist, many were often told that if I wanted to be a heroine, I had to be a certain weight. Now, times have changed, and it is a great time to be an artiste or even an influencer,” Amruta said.

Sharing one myth people often have about her, the Raazi actress added, “A lot of people sometimes think I am not approachable; the audience feels scared to come and talk to me. I am friendly, but when you get stardom at a young age, people want to know things about you, so you have to be careful. I am very choosy about who I talk to.”

On the work front, Amruta Khanvilkar has her play coming up soon. Other than this, she has some films in the pipeline.