They started to feel I was arrogant because Salman Khan launched me: Zareen Khan

Bollywood can be arbitrary in terms of how one’s career turns out and this statement is more so applicable for female actors. While Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif has established herself as a household name despite having entered the film industry through her supposed connection to Bollywood actor Salman Khan, the same does not stand true for Bollywood actress Zareen Khan on whom the expectations were much higher during the release of Salman-starrer Veer. In an interaction with Bharti Singh and Haarsh Limbachiyaa for their podcast, Zareen said, “Life after Veer was very bad for me, I got a lot of criticism for it. The film was so big, it still is a life-changing moment for me. Initially, I felt very happy that I was being compared to Katrina Kaif! She is so beautiful! But I think within the industry, things turned quite the opposite. For me, who used to be overweight, being compared to Katrina was huge, but it backfired badly. I was a lost child in the industry, and I didn’t know most people here. I only knew the names of the producers and directors not by their faces… but they started to feel I was arrogant because Salman Khan launched me.”  

Although Zareen intermittently appeared in films in the 2010s, she did not make the cut to be considered as one of the top actresses in the Hindi film industry. Zareen recollected facing mental health issues due to speculations around her in the media. “There was a time I was even scared to step out of my house because people would comment on my clothes. That comparison went in a very negative way. I was called overweight. What should I do? I was given so many names, that at one point, I wanted to just sit at home,” Zareen added. 

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