"Kitne followers hain": Apoorva Arora on film castings & mental health

What is it like for actors to straddle the shaky ground between being social media personalities and performers for the silver screen? In an exclusive conversation with Hook, actor Apoorva Arora, who has starred in films like Diljit Dosanjh’s 'Disco Singh' Akshay Kumar's 'Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty' and Bhuvan Bam's music video for 'Ajnabee' among others, spilled the beans on the subject. Giving us a glimpse on what it’s like to be a child actor, the impact of art on mental health, and her thoughts on Indian cinema, Apoorva answered all our burning questions.

The life of a child actor

Be it Lindsay Lohan or Drew Barrymore, many former child actors have stated how difficult it is to work in the entertainment business at a young age. Starting out in the film industry at the age of 13, Apoorva revealed her firsthand experience as a child actor, and the observations she made about other young actors.

Highlighting the importance of doing age-appropriate roles, she said, “When I started, the first character that I played was a 13-year-old girl when I was 13 years old ... I didn’t have to really force myself to grow up and think like an adult. I’m very grateful to my parents for not pushing me into films and projects that they liked for me. We picked up things that we all liked. My parents were very sure of the fact that I will not do anything that I’m not comfortable with.”

Apoorva stated that exploring art forms at a young age can be a great learning experience for kids. However, she also pointed out that all child actors weren’t as lucky as her: “A lot of parents I’ve seen at auditions, at shoots, don’t really treat their child like children anymore. As soon as the child starts earning, it gets a little toxic for them. Ek parent ka kaam hai, agar aap itne interested ho ki aap ka bachcha acting kare, ki aap uss blow ko at least cushion toh kar do (It’s a parent’s job, if they are that interested in their child working as an actor, that they at least cushion that blow for their child). At least uss bachche se roz baat toh karo (At least talk to your kid every day).”

Portrayal of women in dance numbers

When asked about how she feels how she feels Bollywood can change the way it portrays dance numbers featuring women, Apoorva said equal representation was necessary. Pointing out the need for both men and women to be cast in an equal number of dance sequences, she felt the gap could be bridged by not casting women in the lion’s share of such videos.

Apoorva also pointed out the importance of including a dance number in a film within its context, and not to sexualise women: “Don’t just put it in there. I understand in India when we make films, music is a very important part of our films and also the dance that we see ... But kuch sar-pair hona chahiye, I think, kahani ke saath uska kuch link hona chahiye (But there should be a head or tail to it, I think, it should be linked to the story.” Citing Nora Fatehi’s number in ‘Stree’ as an example of when a dance number was needed in a movie, she said, “It was going with the story. It didn’t feel like it’s been put there just to objectify the woman or just to sell more tickets.”

Impact of art on mental health

We asked Apoorva if she felt artistic pursuits affect mental health. As someone who is candid about her own mental health on Instagram, and is conscious about spreading mental health awareness, Apoorva said acting helped her because “You have to observe people because then you have to play them. So, it kind of teaches you so much empathy. Thoda kisi aur ke jagah pe bhi khud ko rakh ke soch le (Put yourself in someone else’s shoes and think).”

Urging people to pursue the arts just for the sake of their mental health, she said, “Jab aap dance karte ho, jab aap koi bhi tareeke ka movement practice karte ho, it kind of stabilises you (When you dance, or practice any kind of movement, it stabilises you). It kind of gives you like a lot of anxiety release.”

The pros and cons of social media for an actor

Cinema and social media have become increasingly intertwined today. Be it star kids or content creator-turned-actors, the number of Instagram followers and what one posts online, has an impact on the kind or number of roles actors get.

Apoorva explained why this is the case, “If someone’s putting in money, there’s a lot of responsibility. Toh woh chahenge ki unko return bhi mile (They will want returns). Woh chahenge ek aisa insaan jiski already audience built hai, ki uske show ke baare mein post karne se bohot saare log aake woh show dekhenge (They want a person with a ready audience, someone who can draw viewers to the show by posting about it). But, there has to be some balance there.”

While acknowledging the benefits of having a huge social media following, Apoorva pointed that it plays too big a role in castings: “A lot of times they ask you ki aap ka Instagram bhej do. Kitne followers hain, bata do (A lot of times, they ask you to send your Instagram profile. How many followers do you have, tell us),” adding, “But I feel like it should not be the major reason why someone gets cast. The first reason should be whether they fit into the character...”

Shedding light on the need to separate social media and acting, she said, “So my job as an actor, I take it way more seriously than I take social media. I use social media for fun.”

Navigating social media as a public figure

Opening up on how her job as an actor requires her to be dressed up and play other people, Apoorva said she keeps it filter-free on Instagram where she can just be herself: “I don’t like to conceal too much about how I look, how I feel, ya kaisa mera background hai, kya hai, kaunsi wire dikh rahi hai (I don’t like to conceal too much about how I look, how I feel, or what my background is like, which wire is visible).”

But barring that, being a public figure with a wide array of social media followers also comes with a side of trolling. Apoorva doesn’t let it get to her, though: “Mere liye life phone ke bahar hai... I just feel bad ki mental health kahan pohonch gayi hai logon ki (For me, life is outside my phone... I just feel bad that people’s mental health has reached this level). Kis haalaat mein log aa gaye hain ki Instagram pe aake aapko kisiko gaali deni pad rahi hai (What circumstances could be prompting people to come on Instagram and cuss someone out). It says a lot about them, not about me.”

Dealing with body-shaming

Apoorva opened up on how tragic it is that body-shaming has become a part of women’s reality: “Badi sad baat hai yeh ki humein aadat pad jaati hai aise sab cheeze sunne ki (It’s really sad that we get used to hearing such things).”

Pointing out how cinema has contributed to the unrealistic beauty standards women are expected to live up to, Apoorva said, “Even when you do a film where the character is at home, not doing anything, we want our female lead to look her best. Ye saari cheezein humare dimaag mein baithi hui hain ki ‘Ek ladki ko toh presentable lagna, desirable lagna, ye sab zaroori hai varna logon ko woh pasand nahi aayegi’ (These ideas are embedded in our minds that ‘A woman should look presentable and desirable, or people won’t like her’).”

She also narrated an incident involving a fellow female actor body-shaming her: “She told me, ‘Listen you’ve put on some weight. When you wear crop tops, you have a little belly.’ I said ‘Yeah I know--’ ‘No, I’ll give you this doctor’s number, you can go and get it fixed.’”

Apoorva’s dream co-stars and role to play

When we quizzed her on the dream co-stars she’d love to work with, Apoorva said, “Richa Chadha, she’s also now a producer. Now as a producer she’s backing some really good projects as well. I would like to also work with Konkona Sensharma. Vijay Varma is one of my other favourites. Gulashan Devaiah is also a favourite.”

As for her dream role to play, she said, “I had watched ‘Qala’. I really liked the film. I really like how Tripti played the part. I think ‘Qala’ jaisi ek film zaroor karna chahoongi. ‘The Mirror’, directed by Konkona Sensharma, either of the characters I would be happy to try my hand at...”

Regional films vs. Bollywood

Given how Apoorva has worked in the Kannada, Telugu, Gujarati, Punjabi, and Hindi film industries, she had a lot of insights on how each differs from the other.

Pointing out how the Kannada industry prioritised work-life balance, she said, “I had the best time shooting for Kannada films ... they would give us lunch breaks, two hours long, and we used to sleep. That’s how much time we had, and we would always wrap on time. It was just great prep.”

Talking about how linguistic and cultural barriers were issues sometimes, she said, “I would like to share an anecdote that happened on a Telugu set. One of the days, I saw a dead body that was in the scene, and it was wrapped in a white sheet. It had fresh blood stains. According to the script, this person was supposed to be dead for a while. And I went and told them, ‘Bhai, ye blood thoda sa fresh zyada lag raha hai (Bro, this blood looks a little too fresh). It’s supposed to oxidise, it’s supposed to be a little brown, don’t you think?’ They said ‘No, no, no, no. Blood can’t be brown. Blood has to be red only.’ I said ‘Okay, cool.’ And then, a couple of minutes later, the male actor walks in and he says something to them and they immediately change the sheet, and the colour is now brown. Toh maine kaha, ‘Main kya bol rahi thi (So I said, ‘What was I saying then?’)? Main ladki hoon, main har maheene dekhti hoon ye blood ko colour change karta hua (I’m a woman, I se blood change colour every month)!’”

Crediting Punjabi cinema for connecting her to her roots, she concluded, “I can express myself the best in Hindi. So, when I work in Hindi films, it’s easier to convey, it’s easier to understand what the other person is saying, it’s easier to get the cultural references, get the slang, the lingo. I have felt the most seen and the most heard and the most respected in shooting in Hindi.”