Casting director ’s cryptic social media post about talent becoming the “next big trend” has sparked a debate among Bollywood actors and actresses. While Bhumi Pednekar appeared to agree with Sharma’s sentiment, actors including and pushed back, questioning whether talent is actually what determines opportunities in the Hindi film industry.
Shanoo shared a post on social media that read, “I hope the next big trend is talent.” The post soon drew reactions from several actors. Bhumi Pednekar responded with, “Word,” seemingly agreeing with Sharma. However, others had a different take on the casting director’s statement.
Ridhima Pandit replied, “I truly hope so too, but clearly that’s never going to happen 🙂 the cringier u are the more work you will get.” She went on to argue that visibility, connections and being featured in paparazzi pages often play a bigger role in determining who gets opportunities in Bollywood.
Actor Neil Nitin Mukesh also reacted with a brief “Hmm,” while Ridhi Dogra directly responded to Sharma, writing, “Shanoo pls don’t give random hopes.” She added, “We were all built on this hope. Keep proving ourselves but what works is something entirely different. This dream talk sounds lovely but it’s never going to happen. It’s all luck who clicks and who people like.” Dogra’s comments appeared to question whether talent alone can determine an actor’s success in the industry.
Shanoo’s post comes shortly after Dhamaal 4 actress Anjali Anand spoke about her past interactions with the casting director during Farah Khan’s food vlog. Recalling how she navigated the industry without any backing, Anjali revealed that Sharma had repeatedly told her, “When you lose weight, we will do something.”
Anjali recalled that during the COVID-19 pandemic, after losing her savings, she travelled to Goa when she received a call from Sharma regarding a film casting. Recounting her experiences with the casting director, she said that whenever they met, Sharma would tell her, “When you lose weight, we will do something.”
During the same conversation, Anjali’s mother recalled how she had jokingly doubted that her daughter would get an opportunity to meet Karan Johar when she went for the audition for Dhamaal 4. Explaining her reaction, she told Farah Khan, “Koi backing nahi hai, koi pehchaan wala nahi hai.” Anjali then interjected with, “But, talent hai na.”
The exchange and Sharma’s subsequent post have now sparked a wider conversation online about talent, appearance, connections and visibility in Bollywood, with several actors sharing their own perspectives on what drives opportunities in the industry.