Actor Aahana S Kumra, who auditioned for the American drama series Suits: L.A. recently, says the West has been kinder to her than India. She has been in the industry for over a decade but still feels like an “alien” when it comes to casting in India: “I do more auditions in the West than in the country. In a month, I do four to five auditions for big shows in the US or UK. Here nobody calls me.”

Kumra, who travelled to Los Angeles, USA, for the audition recalls, “(Producer-writer) Aaron Korsh took my audition. I saw how professional they were towards their talent. I was overwhelmed with the kind of respect I got from them. I have never seen this happen in India.”

The 39-year-old rues that with social media influencers taking up acting jobs, even getting a call from casting directors is a challenge. “I don’t get any calls from [Indian] casting directors, they don’t even acknowledge my text. You’ll get a reply from a producer but not from a casting director. So, even I have stopped reaching out to them,” she says.

Kumra laments a lack of work for women actors. “There are a few roles being written for us and they are first given to film kids and yesteryear actresses. Someone has to reject a part for me to even have a conversation about it,” she ends.