When ‘Papa Kehte Hain’ actress Mayoori Kango openly spoke out against glass ceiling for women in cinema

Mayoori took a small pause and said, "Because Indian films are sadly man's maiden, which is a man's game because that is the way how society functions. How much you want to deny it, it is the man's world."

Mumbai: Former actress Mayoori Kango, who rose to fame with Mahesh Bhatt‘s 1996 directorial ‘Papa Kahte Hai’, had earlier spoken about the issues that actresses face in the industry.

In the throwback video, Mayoori was seen interacting with renowned media company Lehren Retro.

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In the shared clip, when the host asked Mayoori if an actress is paired up with actors like Shah Rukh Khan or Hrithik Roshan the career often changes after that… how does that happen?

Mayoori took a small pause and said, “Because Indian films are sadly man’s maiden, which is a man’s game because that is the way how society functions. How much you want to deny it, it is the man’s world.”

She continued, “So, the more successful the man is better it is to be paired with him because it isn’t bragging because the heroine doesn’t sell her territory but a man does, so the more successful the hero is and if you are paired with him then it is considered that success is supposed to rub-off when you are somewhere, I guess.”

She made her acting debut with Saeed Akhtar Mirza’s directorial ‘Naseem’. Apart from Mayoori, the film also featured renowned Urdu poet Kaifi Azmi, Kay Kay Menon, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, late Surekha Sikri and Makrand Deshpande in pivotal roles.

Meanwhile, Mayoori impressed filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt with her captivating role in ‘Naseem’ and later she got the lead role in his pathbreaking film titled ‘Papa Kahte Hai’, which also featured veteran actors like Anupam Kher, Tiku Talsania, Alok Nath and Jugal Hansraj.

After this, Mayoori featured in many critically acclaimed films like ‘Betaabi’, ‘Hogi Pyaar Ki Jeet’, ‘Badal’, ‘Jung’, ‘Shikari’ and Telugu film ‘Vamsi’.

She also left a huge benchmark on the television industry as well as she was featured in many iconic daily soaps such as ‘Kya Hadsaa Kya Haqeeqat’, ‘Karishma’, ‘Kkusum’, ‘Rangoli’, ‘Thoda Gham Thodi Khushi’ and many others.

For the unversed, Mayoori joined Google India in the year 2019 as an India industry head.