Not Just Bollywood| Dolly Singh: ‘Influencers have taken the world by storm and every day I try to reinvent myself’

Actor-influencer Dolly Singh talks about her role in LionsGate Play, Feels Like Home, her journey as an influencer and now actor. She has struggled with mental health issues and now she feels she is in a better place. She believes that the pandemic has changed the entire mentality towards influencers and now it has been taken a little more seriously as a career option. Excerpts from the interview

Tell us about your role  Feels like Home

 My character’s name is Biba and the show is about four boys who are trying to figure out life. I play one of the boy’s sisters in the show. Biba, the character that I am playing is a typical Delhi girl who lives by her own rules. At the same time, she is very motherly towards her brother because she is much older than him.

I am getting married in the show which is really fun and you will get to see a lot of that. I got to wear the nicest clothes, the best makeup and I had a make-belief wedding also. Biba as a character is very aspirational to me because I am not as outgoing as Biba is.

 Your journey from an influencer to acting.

It’s been a rollercoaster ride. It’s been generally nice because I have done some amazing videos which still surprise me to this day. And I still continue to do them because it’s a lot of fun writing comedy and performing it. But at the same time, there was this acting side that was hidden inside me which I am trying to pursue now. So, when this character came about it was really nice because it is not a big character. It’s an impactful one without whom the show will not be able to move forward. My director, Sahir Raza, made me feel at home. When you shoot at home as an influencer there is just a tripod and a camera, but when you go on set there are at least a hundred people there so it can put you on a spot if you are not used to it. So, I have had those moments, but my journey overall has been very fulfilling.

 You hate the word influencer, but you are one.

Yes, there was a time I used to, but not anymore. I think we need to change our outlook. Now, everybody is trying to be an influencer and at the same time, we all refuse to accept the fact that we are influencers. There is some form of circus and joke there because it started with a negative connotation when it was first used. And it has just been used that way and being an influencer comes with its own perks. It’s been a struggle and as a content creator, the biggest hurdle you have is to redefine yourself and reinvent yourself every month because that’s how fast trends are changing. So, to be able to mold yourself among all of this chaos is extremely difficult. Every job has a challenge and I am trying every day to reinvent myself. And I hope I am doing well. When I started off, influencer was a term not many people were aware of. But to see how far I have come makes me feel good.

 Do you think the mentality of the people is changing towards the influencers? If you look during the pandemic there was a big boom of influencers replacing models…

Influencers have taken the world by storm. Now, everybody wants to be one or at least try to be one. The journey isn’t easy. But it is definitely an essay career to try. Unlike other professions, you can just wake up and say that today I will try to be an influencer. There is not much investment in the career and you can do it from the comfort of your own home. Before the pandemic we were not taken so seriously, now I feel like, with the growth in the industry, it is hard to ignore the influencers. All the brands want influencers and some of them have become bigger than celebrities at this point. I think the shift has definitely happened and people are now open to being an influencer and letting their children be an influencer. It’s been taken a little more seriously as a career option and it’s no more a hobby as it used to be associated with. As a fellow creator, I feel extremely proud to see the influencer industry boom.

 We want people to know that we are not just fooling around on our phone cameras and thankfully we are getting the recognition now. And we are bringing smiles to people’s faces and especially during the pandemic it was such a hard time. I remember I was making content literally every day during the pandemic. Some viewers messaged me that your video brings a smile to my face and that itself was rewarding enough to keep going.

 You had once said, ‘Sophie is me’, the school-going girl who is used to daydreaming. How has Sophie’s journey changed and what brought about the change?

I used to relate to Sophie as a character a lot when I was in school. She used to daydream all day and make these weird scenarios. I remember when my teacher in the class used to read out the story of Sophie, it would be a funny thing. I remember being exactly the same when I was in school and I used to daydream all sorts of things. So, now I think I am living that dream of Sophie that I have imagined and I am not daydreaming anymore. I get to wake up to so many people who love me and I get to wake up to messages and comments. I think Sophie’s life has turned around 180 degrees for the good. Life has fewer struggles now, I would say.

Your views on mental health issues.

The mental health stuff is always there because life is unpredictable. But now the mentality of the people toward mental health has changed. Now we can cry together and go to therapy together. I had mental health issues back then when I started my career as an influencer, but at that time I wasn’t aware of it. But now I am aware of it and I know how to work on it. But overall life has definitely turned around and has become easier.

How has body-shaming affected you?

I did go through an ample amount of bullying in school. My relatives and family also didn’t spare me. I had stopped dreaming and I stopped having ambitions for some time. I felt so small in my body. I felt that I can’t do anything in life because of the way I look. Now I am comfortable in my body and I own it. I even talk about it and it’s okay. These are bodies and it is supposed to be in different shapes and it’s completely fine not to listen to the bullies who make fun of the way you look.

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