Opening Doorz

By Ananya Sachdev | Opening Doorz Editorial | June 04, 2021

Kajol Muskan Hussain is a fighter. Hailing from Chhattisgarh, struggling in the City of Dreams, Kajol is taking one small step at a time, in her quest to make it big. No amount of back-biting or remarks about her dark skin is going to deter this girl. In the very first season of Forbidden Angels, Kajol has emerged as the winner. Winning the title is a heady feeling, but life goes on for the dusky beauty.

“There was no change in my life after I won Forbidden Angels. I took an auto home, picked up and carried my luggage just like I used to do,” she says matter-of-factly. “I find happiness in these small things that I can do for myself. Life is still the same, nothing has changed. I am still working hard and going through the same processes of looking for work like I used to earlier,” she adds.

Opening Doorz met up with the winner from among 2000 girls that initially auditioned online for this show which is all about girls having a disadvantage. Forbidden Angels is all about giving girls coming from a small town a chance to make it big. It is also about girls being dark-skinned, girls having a lack of command over a language and many such things that make them outcasts for others.

“Before coming to Mumbai, one should prepare themselves in the basics of acting and modelling and gain some experience in their city,” says Kajol from her own experience.

Excerpts:

First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your win. What was going through your mind when you were announced the winner of ‘Forbidden Angels’?

Thank you so much. When the show host Hina Khan announced my name I was tremendously happy but I also had tears in my eyes. These were tears of happiness I felt at that moment. They were also tears of the memories of the struggles I faced and the hard work I put in. The first thought that came to my mind was that perhaps now people would start recognising me; recognition is not very easily gained in this industry.

This win suggests that you have been able to your struggles into opportunities. What was the driving force that helped you overcome the setbacks you faced?

There were numerous problems I faced, but I believe when a person comes face-to-face with these setbacks and problems, they learn a lot. Perhaps those who have not been through these struggles haven’t been able to learn as much as those who had to. I never lost my courage because the dreams to achieve something were not mine alone, they were also my sister’s and mother’s dreams.

Now that you have been crowned the winner, what would be the next step in your journey?

Not a lot has changed for me after winning this crown. I will still go for auditions, will send people my profile and go to production houses. I think that after winning a reality show there is no massive change that one undergoes. The only difference is that I might get more opportunities. However, the hard work I used to put in will remain the same.

What new life experiences could you say that you have learnt from participating in Forbidden Angels?

Forbidden Angels was a show in which only the participant’s talents were judged. I say this while keeping the other reality shows that are airing right now in mind. In the other shows, the first thing that is looked at is the number of followers you have or how big your social media presence is. However, this show was unique in the sense that it did not look at the number of followers the artists had. When I joined the show I had only 800 followers, and some had one million followers but did not make it past the auditions. The production house and this show only looked at my talent and I am grateful to them for that. I hope more shows like these come up and more artists who perhaps might not have as many followers get to put their talent on screen and get recognition.

How would you define success? What according to you are the factors that play a role in a person’s success? 

Success is a beautiful word. Success is something that we keep running after even after we gain it, we are not completely satisfied. What I mean by this is that the fact that we are never satisfied is what pushes us forward. The industry is such that sometimes it lifts us to the skies and sometimes it throws us back down to earth. However, one should never stop working hard. Having confidence is a good trait but there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. Till the time a model or an actor works hard and keeps pushing themselves, success can be achieved. There is no straight path to success. For some, it might take five years to achieve and for others, it might take just a month. Nevertheless, hard work will always be compulsory.

What would be the one piece of advice you would like to give young girls to reach their full potential?

I don’t think that I am capable enough to advise people yet. But there is one thing that I would like to say to all the youngsters who come to Mumbai to pursue their dreams. Before coming to Mumbai, one should prepare themselves for the basics of acting and modelling and gain some experience in their city. These experiences gained go a long way when you want to establish a career in this city. The main focus should be on how knowledgeable you are in your methods of acting and modelling. Thus, I feel that it is important to learn before one thinks of joining any industry.

In India, fair skin is considered to be beautiful whereas dusky skin is seen as something which needs to be fixed. What do you think should be done by society as a whole to overcome this stigma?

Not only in India, but also around the world the dusky girls are not considered beautiful and face a lot of challenges. People say that dusky skin is more beautiful but their actions, in choosing the ones with fairer skin, speak louder than words. First of all, we should break the stigma that being dark-skinned is bad and is associated with negativity and white is pure. I hope there will be a day where such prejudices are completely eradicated from the minds of people. I do wish that someday we can break this system of hierarchy based on skin colour, though small uprisings have already begun.

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