Delnaaz Irani opens up on groupism in the industry, says, ‘I’m no Neena Gupta but...’

New Delhi: Delnaaz Irani who has worked in films like ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ and several television shows recently opened up on how she is unable to get work now. On Siddharth Kannan’s chat show, she revealed how there’s a lot of groupism in the industry and how social media presence plays a big role in getting roles.  

“I’m no Neena Gupta, but maybe someone will watch this and something will work out. There used to be a connect directly with the directors and producers. Satish Kaushik saw Kal Ho Naa Ho and called me… These days, that connection has been lost. It’s more of going and struggling with the casting directors… This whole middle structure that is there, that is something I still need to figure out. It’s like, you have to go to their offices. There’s a lot of groupism, and camps, she said. 

Further on, she added how people without a blue-tick verification on social media are struggling for work. “My friends have told me that casting directors aren’t giving them work because they don’t have blue ticks on social media. These people have been a part of the industry for two decades, they’ve played leads,” she said. 

Delnaaz has been a part of several television shows like ‘Yes Boss’, ‘Son Pari’ Shararat’ among others. She is famous for playing the role of Preity Zinta’s best friend Sweetu in ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’. Delnaaz was last seen in a television show, ‘Kabhi Kabhie Ittefaq Sey’ which is a Hindi remake of a Bengali show, ‘Khorkuto’.