Riya Sen: Being Sexualised at a Young Age made me Uncomfortable; she was also projected as a Sex Symbol at the beginning of her career...

Riya Sen talked about her journey in Hindi films and how she was type cast. She said it was all about ‘looking sexy’ and the ‘clothes you wear, the makeup you do’ and she ‘didn’t fit into that’...

Riya Sen
Biz Asia

Riya Sen made her breakthrough in Bollywood after starring in a music video for Falguni Pathak’s Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi. However, she had to pay the price for her success. The actress said being sexualised in films and music videos at a young age made her so uncomfortable that she decided to stop working in Hindi movies.  

Riya hails from a family of artistes that includes her grandmother Suchitra Sen, mother Moon Moon Sen and sister Raima Sen.

However, even after debuting at an early age of 16, Riya never felt like working in Bollywood. In an interaction with PTI, Riya said she had a problem with how she was projected as a sex symbol at the beginning of her career and she couldn’t live up to that title.

After debuting for a music video in 1998, she was rendered with movie offers after which she went on to star in many Bollywood films. But she couldn't avoid being typecast and was expected to look glamorous in every role. 

Riya said it was all about ‘looking sexy’ and the ‘clothes you wear, the makeup you do’ and she ‘didn’t fit into that’. “I wasn’t comfortable in the role I was playing. That’s why probably people thought I was a bad actress and I don’t blame them,” she said.

The 39-year-old stress was seen in 2001 sleeper hit comedy Style, Sujoy Ghosh’s musical drama Jhankaar Beats (2003) and Ajay Devgn’s Qayamat: City Under Threat (2003). She was also seen in director Bharathiraja’s Tamil romantic drama Taj Mahal in 1999 marking her big screen debut.

Riya spoke about the trouble she faced at school and how it was ‘horrible and terrible’ to live with the tag of looking sexy. She said, “Everyone wants to be glamorous, no doubt, but I was so young when I came here. I was doing all these roles, wearing a mini skirt, running around and acting ‘cute’. When I’d watch myself on screen I’d be like ‘eeks, I can’t believe that’s me’.”

She had decided to step aside from making a career in Hindi films considering the uncomfortability she faced.

The actress then moved on to do Bengali films including Rituparno Ghosh’s Noukadubi (2011), Srijit Mukherji’s Jaatishwar and Hero 420 in 2016. This was when the world saw the actor in her. 

Honing her craft and making an impact on the audience, Riya elaborated on how she made a mark for herself and how she tapped into her potential. “In Bengali films, I played my version of glamorous, where I played wide-ranging characters. I tapped into my potential in Bengali films, which I don’t think directors in Bollywood were able to understand. I played what they wanted. Today, I know what I can bring to the table,” she elaborated. 

Riya definitely made a mark for herself without sensationalized characters in Bengali films; even though her journey in Hindi cinema did not hold much prominence. The actress seemed to be just another victim of stereotyping a female actor and limiting herself to skimpy clothes and objects of the male gaze in films which certainly isn't new.

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Comments (2)

We can’t pretend like she didn’t enjoy being sexualized. After all she made a lot of money from that and loved the attention she got.

3 years ago

hmm... wear the skimpiest of clothes and they say sexy is the wrong way to interpret it. ya, sure

3 years ago

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