‘Saiyaara’ actor Rajesh Kumar recalls an old interaction with Dimple Kapadia, criticises the hierarchy system in Bollywood: ‘Enough about me’

Mohit Suri’s ‘Saiyaara’ has been the talk of the town ever since it released on Friday. The film has been getting those huge numbers at the box office and proven to be a sleeper hit. It stars Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda in lead roles. It also stars Rajesh Kumar who is largely known for playing Rosesh in the television series ‘Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai’. In a recent interview as the actor opened up on ‘Saiyyara’, he revealed some things about Bollywood that he does not like – for instance, hierarchy system.

In a recent chat with Galatta Media, Rajesh opened up about his journey and shared his thoughts on the long-standing ‘hierarchy system’ in Bollywood—something he believes needs to change.


“The hierarchy system has always existed in Bollywood, and I felt it while working. In terms of how an actor gets treated according to their star value, that metric only takes into account the amount of money they are bringing in or how much people like them. I feel that the system is now changing and evolving with the new generation,” he said.

He explained how this unwritten structure sometimes becomes very obvious, especially when lead actors don’t engage properly with their co-stars. He said, “I used to feel this system really bear on me, even a few years back. One might be respected as an actor, but even sitting on the same couch becomes difficult. I want to meet the person who decides who is the big actor and who is the smaller one. I mean, some actors will just go and rehearse with the writer and will tell you that changes at the last moment, and I don’t think that is right.”

Rajesh believes that actors should connect and talk beyond just the scenes they are filming. He shared how he made that effort with newcomer Aneet Padda, who plays his daughter in Saiyaara. They spent time talking and building an emotional bond that helped them on screen.

While he praised the younger generation for being more open and collaborative, he also remembered a special moment from the past with veteran actress Dimple Kapadia.

“I will tell you one incident involving Dimple Kapadia ji, and I think it was a beautiful moment for me. We were shooting in Jaisalmer, and we were all sitting around her talking about her work. After a few minutes she stops us and says, ‘Enough about me; can I know something about you guys?’ That is when you have a real conversation, because just sitting around appreciating someone is different, and an actual human conversation is totally different. That is something missing from our industry, and we don’t understand how someone else’s story can help us in our own journey.”