Exclusive: 1920 Evil Returns Actress Tia Bajpai On Nepotism: ‘Was Invited To Filmfare Awards But There Was No Seat For Me’

In the wake of the nepotism debate once again, post the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput many actors, actresses and film technicians from Bollywood have come out to relate their ordeal in the industry. Right from Oscar-winning musician AR Rahman to Shekhar Kapur to Oscar-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty, people have narrated how Bollywood has been unfair to them when it came to acknowledging their craft.  

And now in an exclusive conversation with us, Haunted actress Tia Bajpai revealed, she too has faced injustice at work in B’Town. She recollected how she was denied seats in Filmfare awards. Quipped she, “Of course, I faced a lot of rejections, after doing two superhit films, Haunted and 1920 Returns, now we have a very different definition of superhit films, if a film makes three times the money than the budget it was made in... If Haunted was made in 8 crores and it went on to make Rs 40 crores, it is a superhit film. It doesn’t have to be a 100-crore film. I remember, I was invited to Filmfare Awards but there was not a seat for me, they had not allotted a seat for me.” 

The Haunted actress revealed she did bear the brunt of nepotism in Bollywood and that she faced discrimination because she starred in Vikram Bhatt films and also because she began her career in the TV industry. She tells us, “I have faced it, I have had films which were taken away from me, I have gone for script meetings but then I have not been called back, I have been told we don’t work with Vikram Bhatt actors and I also have been told we don’t' work with actors who have a TV background. But I didn’t take it all negatively, because somehow, I know I am very talented, I wouldn’t be here otherwise, I would still be working. So, it is not about talent, it is about the backing that you go with, it's about how many people are supporting you and the internal politics that goes with it.”