From not wanting to marry outside her religion to facing mistreatment by senior actors on TV sets: Reem Shaikh gets candid

Reem Sameer Shaikh, who was last seen on Laughter Chefs, has won many hearts over the years with her acting skills. She recently appeared on a podcast with Shardul Pandit. The actress opened up about her journey in the television industry, social media fan following, and much more. Here’s a look:

Reem shared how she has faced ill-treatment and discrimination on the sets of some TV shows. She said, “Mere saath hua hai. I’ve been working for the last 15 years, but as a lead or as an adult, maine kaam karna pichhle 8 saal se shuru kiya hai. And you know how sets work, kahin na kahin wo male-dominated industry aa hi jaati hai beech mein. Phir bhale aap ro-ro ke scenes karke TRP le kar aa rahe ho, ya aap 16–17 ghante kaam karke de rahe ho, wo kahin na kahin aa hi jaata hai.”

Reem shared what she faced on one of her last TV shows and how much it affected her. She said, “I’m not kidding, main bukhaar se ya exertion se tap rahi hoon, ya main tadap rahi hoon apne makeup room mein. But do-teen ghante tak phir bhi mera shot nahi lagaya gaya. Ki chalo iska shot leke, iska ek chhota sa scene karke isko ghar bhej dein, just because they had other actors on their priority list to send them home.”

The actress said, “I would even call out to the actors who knew that she’s not well. Kyunki kai baar aisa hota hai na, agar mujhe koi aa ke bole that a person is sick, main bolungi, yaar theek hai, mera shot aadhe ghante baad laga lo, uska khatam karke usko jaane do. Because I understand ki jab aap senior hote ho industry mein, toh by default aapko priority par rakha jaata hai. But as a human, agar aapko pata chale that someone is not well, I would be like, nahi yaar, pehle uska le lo, phir it’s okay, main ruk jaaungi aadha ghanta. Matlab mere saath ye sab hua hai on TV sets.”

“Maine har kisi ke saath bachpan mein kaam kiya hai. May it be Kajol or many other senior actors. And I’m not kidding, woh log genuinely 5 minute pehle set par aa jaate the. Matlab yeh jo hota hai na ‘fashionably late’, unka uss hisaab-kitaab se koi lena-dena hi nahi tha. When I was doing Raabta, the show that actually changed my life, usmein bahut senior actors the, woh bhi waqt se pehle aa jaate the. Toh maine in logon se bahut kuch seekha hai,” she added.

Reem said, “I have all the right reasons not to believe in love because I’ve seen a divorce in my own house. I’ve seen people around me go through so many breakups and relationships not working out. So yes, I have every reason to not believe in love. But I don’t know, something in me just doesn’t let me stop believing in it. Mujhe aisa lagta hai ki agar pyaar hai, toh sab kuch hai, and if it’s not, then there’s nothing. Even to connect with God, you need love. If there’s no love, then you won’t be able to build a relationship with God or with the people around you.”

The actress shared how she won’t prefer an interfaith relationship. While talking about the reason behind it, she said, “I offer namaz five times a day. During Ramadan, I’ve recently started fasting too. Whenever something goes wrong in my life, the first person I turn to is God. I sit down on my janamaz and start praying. So, for me, it would be difficult. I don’t think I’d be able to do it because my faith is a very important part of my life.”