EXCLUSIVE: ‘It is still a struggle to prove myself outside the Marathi industry,’ says City Of Dreams actress Priya Bapat

Priya Bapat is popularly known by the Hindi audience as the college student they saw in Sanjay Dutt starrer Munna Bhai MBBS. The actress was quite young then, and since then she has made a big name for herself in the Marathi film industry. In Hindi too, she has done some projects, one of them being the show City Of Dreams. She was also recently seen in Maniesh Paul’s Rafuchakkar.

Recently, Priya got in an exclusive conversation with Bollywood Bubble where she spoke about her Munna Bhai MBBS co-star Sanjay Dutt. She also opened up on the discrimination she faces as a Marathi actor and the struggle she goes through even today to build her audience.

Priya Bapat on Sanjay Dutt

When asked to recall her shooting days on the film, Priya shared that it’s all a blur to her. However, she has one distinct memory of Sanjay. She shared, “I have this amazing memory where I was in awe of Sanjay Dutt. I was in the dubbing studio where he was dubbing and my turn was next. I was in the waiting room and I could see him dubbing and he did it like a pro. In just 4-5 minutes he finished a whole long scene and he just went. It’s a brilliant talent and a lot of hard work and experience.”

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Priya on making it in Hindi film industry

The actress revealed that after Munna Bhai, she was still in college and not that invested in acting. It was after her post graduation that she became focused on it. And when she did that, Marathi cinema was easier to enter into for her since she had been a child actor there.

However, it wasn’t like she didn’t try out for Hindi projects. She revealed, “Still, I gave auditions in Hindi. I have given auditions for every big production house but things didn’t work out and I don’t know why. But after City Of Dreams 2, I have built that much trust that even casting directors call me for important parts. And if things don’t work out, they tell me why and every actor needs that respect.”

On facing discrimination as a regional actor

When asked if she ever was discriminated for being a regional actor in the Hindi film circuit, Priya went into deep thought. She shared, “Not directly. No one has ever directly told me this but I have felt those vibes a lot of times. This happens more in terms of the roles I am offered. They are happy to give me Maharashtrian characters. But will you cast me as a South Indian or a North Indian girl? That’s the question, because I want that to happen. I want people to see I am talented beyond my skin, my region and my language.”

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Priya Bapat on building her audience

Even though Priya is a big name in Marathi industry, she still faces a challenge in finding her footing outside it. She insisted, “It was and it still is a struggle to prove myself outside the Marathi film fraternity, to have people believe in the talent I have. If I would have approached things like this in my 20s, the opportunities would have been different. The time I would have gotten to explore would have been more. People start categorising you in a bracket depending on your age. That struggle continues even today to prove myself and it never ends.”

Priya has had a flourishing career in Marathi film industry, but now she is focusing on Hindi projects too. She has some very interesting ones in the pipeline and she can’t wait to show her skills to the audience through them.

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