Soniya Bansal: No hurdles in film industry down South…comparatively

Five years into the industry and having done modelling and two Hindi feature films and an OTT series, Agra-girl and actor Soniya Bansal has turned towards Telugu industry. She has already shot two South films and feels one needs to carve their way rather than wait for things to happen.

“In South film industry there are no hurdles like we have in the Hindi film industry. I have worked in Telugu industry and everyone means serious business there. People are very professional there and what they say they deliver. Here projects keep on lingering and many times after wasting several months they don’t happen. Casting and others asking for favours is also prevalent, but you need to tackle it,” says the Shoorveer (2022) actor.

However, Bansal feels the film industry is still better compared to other fields as there are options aplenty. “See, you can always reject such people – small or big – and can work with others as there is no dearth of casting people, producers and directors. I feel our (film) industry is better as there are multiple options. Harassment and such things happen in other industries also, but there, unfortunately, people don’t have many options,” she says.

She has completed the shooting for upcoming Telugu films Dheera with Laksh Chadalavada and Yes Boss with KL Havish.

“I hope my stint down South will fetch me good work in the Hindi industry. I am learning Telugu as I want to do bigger films now and it’s your work only that fetches you good work. Besides, I feature in music videos for singers like Navraj Hans, Krishna Beuraa and Master Saleem. I am in talks for Hindi projects as well,” she says.

On her journey she says, “After completing my education from Agra, I shifted to Mumbai and worked in the corporate world for a year but acting was on my mind. So, I started with modelling and did lots of shows, which led to commercials and music videos and even fetched me a feature film 100 Crore with Rahul Roy. Thereafter, I got Naughty Gang (2019) and I got to play the role of cop in Dubki (2021).”

The actor says that she has stopped modelling but takes up showstopper events and does digital branding events on social media, which fetches her good money. “In our industry, it’s tough to get work and survive without a godfather so you need to explore options as it’s not possible to survive amidst the tough struggle. This I understood after working in the South film industry.”

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