'Main raste pe nangi nahi chal rahi': Zareen Khan hits back at Khushi Mukherjee's dig on her Hate Story stint

Actor Zareen Khan recently opened up in an interview with Pinkvilla Hindi Rush about the public perception surrounding female actors, particularly when it comes to performing bold scenes. She shared her experiences of being misjudged and stereotyped due to roles she has portrayed on screen, underlining the persistent gap between fiction and reality that audiences often fail to recognize.

Without naming any specific incident initially, Zareen pointed out how certain acting choices, especially those involving intimate or bold content, continue to draw disproportionate scrutiny when done by women. “At the end of the day, acting toh acting hoti hai… ek art hai,” she said. “Agar ladka kare toh body aur maza dekha jaata hai. Ladki kare toh kharaab samajh lete hain.”

She further elaborated on the conflation of reel and real life, a pattern she says is often directed at women in the industry. “Accha accha, isne TV pe yeh kiya hai, toh yeh bahar bhi aisi hogi. Easy, loose…” Zareen said, describing how these assumptions impact the way female actors are approached. According to her, people often fail to separate a character from the person behind it, leading to inappropriate comments or questions. “That’s why they don’t even feel to kind of approach a female actress who might have done a bold scene with a different perspective. Ya toh stupid questions ya stupid requests lekar aa jaate hain.”

Zareen also addressed criticism she has faced from other women, saying, “Aurat hi aurat ki dushman hoti hai.” She recalled how her appearance in the film Hate Story continues to be brought up, with remarks like, “Arre yeh bhool gayi ki isne toh Hate Story kiya hai.” She emphasized the importance of understanding the boundary between screen personas and personal lives. “Hate Story toh movie thi. Main raste pe nangi nahi chal rahi. There’s a huge difference between real life and reel life,” she said. The actress said this in context to the comments by a few influencers, who she had criticized for their appearance in front of paps in 'skimpy clothes.' One of those influencers had then retaliated by taking a jibe at the actress' performance in Hate Story 2.

Aurat hi aurat ki dushman hoti hai. Hate Story toh movie thi. Main raste pe nangi nahi chal rahi. There’s a huge difference between real life and reel life.

- Zareen Khan

Citing a recent personal interaction, Zareen described how even well-intentioned comments are sometimes misinterpreted. “Maine toh tumko kuch bhi aise nahi bola. Maine toh sirf yeh bola tha ki jis tarah se tum kapde pehen ke aa rahi ho, toh phir comfortably ghoomo... Main toh tumhari comfort ke liye bol rahi thi.”

She concluded by questioning the logic of using a professional role to judge someone’s personal choices. “Tumne usko alag tareeke se le liya. You kind of put fingers on a work that I did. Toh phir toh tumhe har ek actress pe ungli uthani padegi.”

Zareen’s remarks reflect a broader conversation about the ongoing judgment female actors face, not only from the public but also within their own circles, often based on fictional portrayals rather than real-life behavior.

In the same interview, the actress speaking about how bold roles are treated in the industry, Zareen said, “Imran Hashmi ne bold topics pe kaam kiya, but uske baad uske craft ko appreciate bhi kiya gaya. Par actresses ke saath aisa kab hota hai?”

She added, “Hamari country male dominated hai… sadiyon se chalta aa raha hai. Mard kuch bhi kare toh theek hai, aurat kare toh character pe sawal uth jaate hain.”

Zareen Khan’s remarks bring to light the persistent double standards and moral judgments that female actors face, both from the public and within the industry. Her comments underline a larger issue — the inability to separate an actor's professional choices from their personal identity. By addressing the backlash over her own work and the criticisms she’s both given and received, she draws attention to the need for a more nuanced understanding of what it means to perform on screen, and the respect artists deserve beyond the roles they portray.