Regena Cassandrra recently opened up about her run in Bollywood. She debuted with the 2019 film Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga. Sharing her take on the Hindi film industry, she told Hindustan Times that she faced stereotypes in the beginning. Speaking to the publication, Regena noted, “I was a South Indian actress. Compared to most South Indians, my Hindi is way better. I can read, write, and speak Hindi, and all the work I have done to date in the language is in my own voice. It’s my own Hindi, and I’ve tried to make sure that, you know, I live up to the role that I’ve been given.”
She added that she was treated in a “derogatory manner” when she first started out. She quipped about feeling that she was being “put down in a certain way.” 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?”
Regena also noted that she tried her best to make the industry feel home to her. She said, “I am a very nurturing person, so when I’m around people, I feel like they see that side of me. Irrespective of the industry I’m in, I somehow make it feel like home.”
Regena has worked in films like Kesari Chapter 2, Rocket Boys, Farzi, Jaat and more. Opening up on the stereotypes that women, in general, face being associated with commercial films, Regena said, “I think as a woman in this industry, it is 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.”
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