Sushmita Sen reveals she’s proud of her ‘item numbers’, recalls saying ‘take me’ when it was frowned upon

Actor Sushmita Sen has revealed that she is proud of the ‘item numbers’ that she has featured in over the years in her career. In a new interview, Sushmita has said that earlier it was frowned upon if a lead male or female actor starred in item songs in films. However, she revealed that she always was ready to be a part of those songs.

Sushmita Sen has featured in several item numbers over the years such as Main Kudi Anjani Hoon (Zor), Mehboob Mere (Fiza), Dilbar Dilbar (Sirf Tum), Shakalaka Baby (Nayak) and Shakira (No Problem) among others. The actor has featured in over 30 films across several languages.

In an interview with Film Companion, Sushmita said, “I’m very proud of the fact that at a time when they would say ‘Item number? Main lead actors, actress item number nhi karte hai, reputation kharab hojayega (Main lead actors don’t do item numbers, it’s bad for their reputation). And I’m like (raises her hand) mujhe lelo (take me). I’ve had two managers leave me because they were like at that point ‘She’s crazy, she’s saying yes to doing an item song, and you were trying to cast her in a full-fledged film’. Music is music and it will survive even a bad film.”

She added, “Back in the day, if you said no to your manager about something or you said, ‘You think it’s a bad idea but I still want to do it’. They would be like, ‘We have no importance. We are in the industry for so many years we know how to do this’. Because you’re 22 years old yourself, all the more people start taking into the factor that she’s just not listening we’ve been here for so long.”

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Sushmita was last seen in the web series Aarya 2, directed by Ram Madhvani. She essayed the role of Aarya Sareen, a mother combatting the dark world of crime and enemies closing in on her family and children.

The second season of Aarya, currently streaming on Disney Hotstar, premiered on December 10. The web series also stars Sikandar Kher, Vikas Kumar, Mayo Sarao, Ankur Bhatia, Akash Khurana, Dilnaz Irani among others. It is co-produced by Endemol Shine India and Ram Madhvani Films.