Kusha Kapila breaks silence on influencers getting preference in casting over actors: 'I became a student'

Kusha Kapila. Pics/Instagram, Youtube

Kusha Kapila was thrilled when she was offered a role in Maamla Legal Hai's second season. More importantly, she felt ready. For years, she was putting in the work after she realised her acting career wasn't shaping up as well as her content creator run had. "Everything had panned out so nicely for me. I thought this [acting] would too. But a reality check is good for you," quipped Kapila, showing that signature humorous streak.

She is one of the most popular exports from the content creation world to the film industry. But soon after foraying into acting with Ghost Stories (2020), she understood she needed to earn her place. "I told myself, ‘This is not working out. Take a step back and learn for two years.' I came to Mumbai, and became a student before I became an actor. During that time, I let go of many opportunities because I felt I couldn't do justice to them. If you don't want to be a marketing hire, you need to suss it out before anybody else can," she said.

A still from ‘Maamla Legal Hai 2'

According to Kapila, the question - ‘Should influencers become actors?' - is a valid one. In an industry where actors are being rejected for having less social media following and influencers are preferred over them, she stands by the actors. "Actors are right. They have studied acting. But [hiring influencers] is not the case anymore. Maybe in the past, I've been hired for [eyeballs]. But after a while, there was a lull because there has to be merit. How can creators become actors if they haven't learnt anything? I can assure you that the creators who are working [in acting today], have taken out time and worked on themselves."

From content creation to acting

. Prajakta Koli in ‘Mismatched'

. Dharna Durga in ‘Maa Behen'

. Dolly Singh in ‘Thank You For Coming'