‘Ab Toh Sab Bhagwan Bharose’ actress Masumeh Makhija: I became selective about work because I was tired of being typecast as a hot girl

Her quest for roles that truly showcased her talent led Masumeh Makhija to become selective about her choices within the entertainment industry. The actress grew weary of being consistently labelled as the “hot” girl. She shares, “After my debut in ‘Chupke Se’ in 2003 and Vishal Bhardwaj’s ‘Maqbool’, I did a spate of commercial films. However, somewhere along the way, I began to be recognised as a “glamour queen” and a “sex symbol”. Due to that, I was offered roles only because of my appearance and social profile rather than my acting skills. I became extremely selective about work, which led to ‘Three Storeys’ (2018). However, I was still being typecast as the “hot” girl. Nobody was offering me the parts that I wanted.”
Despite the stereotype, Masumeh continued her search for substantial parts. She says, “I now choose only to act in films that inspire and challenge me as an actor, and ‘Ab Toh Sab Bhagwan Bharose’ was one such project. It is a heartfelt coming-of-age story about two young boys in rural India during the late 1980s, commending the value of tolerance, which, I believe, is a crucial social message in our current climate of increasing intolerance.”

Her character Radha in the film was challenging yet fulfilling. She says, “I spent three months preparing for my role as Radha. It was particularly challenging for me because it was a vast departure from the glamorous roles I had played previously. It called for a complete change in my body language and learning the local dialect spoken in Deogarh to sound authentic.”
Masumeh also forayed into content production. So, what prompted the move? “After working in several commercial films in India, I wanted to do something beyond the kind of roles offered to me. I decided to reinvent myself and follow my other passion of training as a chef. I also moved to Los Angeles and acted in a German film, ‘Tor Zum Himmel’. When I returned to India, the kind of roles I hoped for continued to evade me. In 2016, I co-founded an agency that gave voice to outliers like myself and fostered their creative endeavours. Our maiden venture, a Gujarati film titled ‘Gulaam Chor’, was released earlier this year. I started acting when I was 11 years old. From then till now, I have dedicated my career to understanding all the various facets of cinema. And I think that has immensely helped me become a successful producer and a creative actor,” she replies.