"I have zero Instagram game."
Zoya Hussain claimed that a lack of Instagram followers cost her work.
The actress gave an exclusive interview to The Indian Express, in which she said that a lack of social media followers led to her losing out on films.
She said: “I have zero Instagram game and I don’t even pretend to have.
“I would much rather have a chat and meet people, rather than texting.
“I sometimes look at the Instagram of others and wonder, ‘Whoa! This makes sense’. And I enjoy seeing their profile. I neither have the bandwidth nor the intention.
“I have been dropped from projects in the past for either having less followers or not being well known.
“That is definitely something that I have faced.”
Claiming that the film industry does not operate in correlation to its craft, Zoya Hussain continued:
“Craft has very little to do with most things, unfortunately.
“It is not that you don’t get noticed, it just takes a lot of time.
“It is very difficult to keep yourself motivated then.
“If someone is not casting you because you have very little [Instagram] followers, what can you do about it?
“Nothing. You might [say], ‘Ok, I will work on my Instagram game instead of trying to be a better actor’.
“It is disheartening. I don’t understand it. You want your film to be good or… I just don’t understand these trends. I hope it changes.
“I work my a** off. Whether it is a music video or totally outrageous like Bhaiyya Ji, I want to be approachable, relatable.
“I am a normal person, trying to make her way in the industry.
“The waiting period is definitely testing. Mumbai is an expensive city; you have to survive and not just survive but also have a healthy life outside of your work.
“For the outsiders, the struggle is to be consistent, persistent, keep the joy within, not become bitter.”
Explaining her biggest challenge, Zoya concluded:
“[The challenge is] to put myself out there. I don’t know how to do it on social media – I am trying to figure it out.
“I am trying to make people know I exist.
“These things are external, you figure it out eventually, but you lose so much time figuring it.”
On the work front, Zoya Hussain was last seen in Bhaiyya Ji (2024), with Manoj Bajpayee.
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