Popular actress Sumbul Touqeer is currently winning hearts with her portrayal of Anvita Diwekar in Itti Si Khushi. The actress, who is known for her power-packed performances once opened up about the discrimination she has faced regarding her skin colour in the industry. The actress says that there was a time when work was refused and actors were judged based on how fair they were.
While talking to Times of India TV, Sumbul in an old interview, shared, "When I came to Mumbai my interest was never towards becoming an actress. My focus was to become a dancer but I had a change of heart. My initial days were very tough. I started as a child actor and whenever I went for auditions they only wanted fair skinned actors. The requirement was always for fair child actors. It was very demeaning and insulting. It was something which I never appreciated and did not like. For me colour complexion is not important. I had started to believe that if you are dark skinned you can’t be a lead heroine. All the heroines, if you see them all, were mostly fair. I don’t have anything against anyone but this is what I started to believe. But this stereotype broke when I bagged Imlie. Even after I bagged Imlie, things did not change instantly. People would call up and say “arre kaisi ladki ko cast kar liya, kaali hai”. I had felt very bad that day and I had cried a lot but after the telecast things started to change. Our opening TRP numbers were 2.2 and the number just went up from there. It never came down till the time I was a part of it. People forgot how I looked, they just noticed my work. The people who disliked me also started praising me. I feel this is all based on convenience."
Coming back to her new show, Sumbul is thrilled to play a relatable character. Playing the role of Anvita Diwekar, Sumbul’s character in Itti Si Khushi is all about resilience, warmth, and a quiet sense of responsibility. In the show, Anvita steps into the role of a primary caregiver for her younger siblings after the untimely loss of their mother and an alcoholic father.
She recently shared in an interview, “When I heard the show for the first time, it was relatable, but not too much. There was a time when I was staying with my sister, I was 15-16 years old. I was doing Imlie at that time. I was handling her studies and her food. So, I used to make sure that things fall in place, and work also goes off well. So, I felt that was relatable,” she says.
She further reveals that working at a young age did not stop her from living her life. “I have enjoyed it a lot. I was working 16-17 hours a day. Even after my packup, I used to go around, go out with friends and my sister. I feel that I missed out on my college life a bit, but not too much,” she says.
Coming back to the show, she says that it showcases the reality of no one being perfect. “Everyone is flawed, but on TV, we generally try that all characters should not be very flawed. Usually characters are shown to be righteous. But here, no matter how many characters are there, the storyline shows them to be very different. They are all flawed in their own way. Misfits trying to survive together,” she says.