Urmila: Was written off like no other actor in the history of cinema

Urmila Matondkar. Image sourced from mid-day archives

Debates and discussions around nepotism and groupism in Bollywood have been amplified by fans and users on social media post the unfortunate death of Sushant Singh Rajput. There has been an increased hostility towards Bollywood, as the late actor's fans believe he was wronged by the industry and deprived of opportunities. Several celebrities have since then spoken about this issue.

Urmila Matondkar, as an outsider, has also spoken about this debate. In an interview with Barkha Dutt, the Satya actress said, "This word called ‘nepotism', if I start talking about it, I will have to talk for quite a few hours. The amount of it that I have faced, in spite of being from Mumbai, was quite alarming, to say the least. There was some 16-17 new girls who were introduced that year and out of them, some eight or nine of them were somebody or the other's daughters. I will tell you a few of them - Raveena Tandon, Karisma Kapoor, Pooja Bhatt, Kajol, lots of them."

She added, "After my first film, I made a decent name for myself as a good dancer and a decent actor, and yet, I struggled tremendously. By the time I was doing Rangeela, I was written off like no other actor in the history of cinema. ‘She makes faces', ‘her language'... everything".

The actress also opened up on how she was not nominated for her performance in the film. She was also upset by the fact that everything else about the film was discussed, but not her. However, she chose to take it in her stride and focus on the positives of the film industry.

Urmila Matondkar has been in news recently due to her ugly spat with Kangana Ranaut. It all began when the Rangeela actress lashed out at Kangana for her comment on veteran star Jaya Bachchan. The veteran actress was quoted saying, "jis thali mein khate hain usmein chhed karte hain." A lot of Bollywood actors extended support to the veteran when Kangana lashed out at her via a series of tweets through her official account.

The war of words did not stop here. A few days ago, Urmila Matondkar, in a video interview shared her views on Kangana disrespecting Mumbai. She said, "Which girl from a civilised cultured house would use this kind of language? Like 'kya ukhaad loge', 'kiska baap ka kya hai', speaking about Jaya ji the way she did."

Ranaut called her a "soft porn star" who is not known for her acting. Ranaut's comments were met with criticism from the industry, with many hailing Matondkar's consistent "grace and dignity" throughout her career of over 25 years.

Also Read: Urmila Matondkar Thanks 'Real People Of India' For Support After Kangana Ranaut's Jibe

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also, download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news