Hina Khan disheartened that she wasn't invited to opening ceremony of Indian pavilion at Cannes, says ‘elitist system' still exists

Television star, Hina Khan, who has been very vocal about the discriminatory treatment that small screen stars get as compared to movie actors in Bollywood, recently opened up about being sidelined at Cannes, and not being invited to the opening ceremony at the Indian Pavilion.

The actress, who was invited for the second year at Cannes, in an interview to Entertainment portal Film Companion said that while her first appearance two years ago did give a fillip to her career and got her noticed, and even made some fashion designers reach out to her, expressing their desire to work with her, Khan said that India is yet to break out of its ‘elitist’ mindset, where movie stars are given more importance than TV actors.

'Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai' actress said during the interview that,“Things changed after Cannes for me, I would not deny that …things did get a bit easier when it comes to work, meeting people, how they look at you, how they greet you. And, the designer stuff that we wear… Of course, there are many who still have their reservations, but there are many who reached out to me ... But, sometimes, you might not be allowed to enter a certain space, so you have to create your own table…”


The actress said that the elitist culture exist even now and for a ‘TV star’ to cross a certain boundary is still easier said than done. Expressing her disheartenment at not being invited to the opening ceremony at the Indian pavilion, the actress said, “There is still an elitist system that exists. There was an opening ceremony that happened in the Indian pavilion. There were everyone, all Indian talents, my contemporaries and not just from Bollywood. It is not that I envy them, I am very proud of them, but at the same time, it is a bit disheartening that I wasn’t there. I could have been in the audience at least?” the actress asked.

The actress added that she is extremely prove of her contemporaries’ achievements, and doesn’t blame them in any way for her exclusion, and hoped that things would change more the next time she is invited at Cannes.