While speaking to Hauterrfly, Avneet Kaur, a 23-year-old actress revealed the uncomfortable struggles she endured while growing up in the industry, where she has been in the industry for over a decade and has had multiple experiences that shaped her resilience.
She opened up about being touched inappropriately during a dance rehearsal when she was only 8 years old, which led to an important conversation with her mother.
She further elaborated “Once, during dance rehearsals, there was a spot or someone who touched here and there. At the time, I told my mother about this.. then my mom told me that beta, this is bad touch, this is good touch and whatever. You have to understand that this happens. I am telling you this from back when I was eight years old. And since then, I was well prepared for such things.”
The young star also opened up about a gut-wrenching experience with a director that shattered her confidence. At the age of 11 or 12, she struggled with a monologue and the director yelled at her, telling her that she would never be successful in the industry.
She said “There was this one incident from the time when I was struggling, and it really scared me. I was just starting out, and this director gave me a very heavy monologue with heavy words, which I had to say. Now, I was very scared, because I was 11 or 12, and I fumbled 2-3 times, which is when he switched on his mic and started speaking harshly.
He said that I wasn’t capable of doing anything and that I would never succeed in this industry. He even abused me verbally. I was very confused because my parents were not allowed on set. I went to my parents and told them everything and my self-confidence broke as an actor.”
Yet, Avneet Kaur didn’t let that break her spirit. She started her career at age 8 on Dance India Dance Li’l Masters, transitioned into acting on television in 2012 with “Meri Maa,” and made her feature film debut with “Mardaani” (2014). She recently played the lead role in “Tike Weds Sheru” (2023) along with Nawazuddin Siddiqui.