‘Send awkward self tapes and Snapchat pictures’: Saiyaara star Aneet Padda on career struggles

Bollywood’s rising star Aneet Padda shot to fame overnight with her breakout film Saiyaara, sharing screen space with Ahaan Panday.

In a recent chat with Cosmopolitan India, Aneet opened up about her early struggles and determination to make it in the film industry. Aneet revealed that her dream of being on the big screen began when she was just 10 years old.

“I dreamed of being on the big screen since I was just 10 years old,” she said. The actress recalled scouring the internet for casting calls as a teenager, often stumbling upon fake audition websites and sending “awkward self tapes and Snapchat pictures” in hopes of landing a role.

The young actor even rehearsed scenes with her friends and spent hours searching online for “auditions near me.” “I remember breaking into the industry through horrible biodata and filter pictures,” she added with a laugh.

Facing rejection and scams

Before her breakthrough in Saiyaara, Aneet appeared in Kajol’s Salaam Venky and the series Big Girls Don’t Cry, slowly paving her way in the industry.

At 17, Aneet’s enthusiasm led her to some shady audition sites that turned out to be scams. She shared that while her passion was strong, support from her family and friends wasn’t always there. “I fell in love with the craft when I was 10, but I always second-guessed myself after my father and my friends didn’t support my dreams,” she revealed.

“Almost every production house in the Hindi film industry has my audition tape, a terrible biodata, and Snapchat filter pictures,” she said.

It was during the COVID-19 pandemic that her determination truly intensified. Aneet began sending her “unpolished biodata and pictures with Snapchat filters” to over 70 production houses.