Actress Priyanka Bose says it is frustrating to see artistes in India being differentiated as stars and actors despite having proved their mettle in acting.
Bose, who has starred in an award-winning Italian film "Gangor" and is a part of this year's Oscar-nominated movie "Lion", says there is too much struggle in the industry for people like her who do not come from the "right family and are not beauty queens".
"There is no way to combat the demarcation... It is sad but it is true. It's quite depressing. We are doing what we are doing. There are a whole lot of us, talented artistes in India who don't come from the right family, who are not beauty queens. We are actors and we are here to stay," Bose told PTI on the sidelines of Lakme Fashion Week.
The actress says she is happy to see Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone bagging great projects in Hollywood and feels that they both have set the scene for so many other actors.
"There is a lot of diversity out there. Deepika and Priyanka have paved a way. I think that is going to help a lot of people."
Talking about "Lion", which had its Indian premiere here on Wednesday, Priyanka says she is very proud of the film, which has earned six nominations at the 2017 Academy Awards.
The Garth Davis-directed film is about a young Indian boy Saroo Brierley, who gets separated from his brother and mother when he ends up 1,000 miles away from his home and is eventually adopted by an Australian couple.
"It is special film, it will have a resonance with everybody. It is not the rich versus the poor film. It is just talking about lost people. There are thousands of lost children in India and it is wonderful that it brings a ray of hope for them. I am very proud of the film," she says.
The actress says in order to prepare for the role, she wanted to meet Saroo Brierley's real mother and her director made the meeting possible.
"I had met Saroo's brother. It was something I had asked Garth and he initiated it and that happened."
The film also stars Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman, David Wenham, Rooney Mara and child actor Sunny Pawar.
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