Netflix's 'Maamla Legal Hai 2' actor Dibyendu Bhattacharya recalls losing work due to racism: 'They said they didn't want kaala actors and...'

Dibyendu Bhattacharya is one actor we often encountered in films but seldom paid attention to. It only happens when writers and directors want our attention to fall on underdogs like him. He’s no longer one. He’s currently on a dream run with one dream role after another.

But the actor, who was last seen in Netflix's 'Maamla Legal Hai 2', recalled losing work due to his skin colour, exposing industry's racist attitude. He told Bollywood Bubble, "This is an issue and it is very rooted. Just a few days ago, I got cast for an advertisement and for 4-5 days discussions went on and just three days later, the shoot was supposed to happen. So I asked them are we doing the shoot or not? They said, ‘Nahi Dada, aapko replace kiya kyunki aap kaale ho aur kaala actor nahi chahiye.’"

The actor added, "But you can’t really do much. If you don’t introduce social ethics and norms at the very foundation, during primary education, then this can’t be achieved."

In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, the actor speaks about his over two decade long journey, how OTT has resuscitated his professional space and given him a new lease of life, and the actor also has a very interesting take on his upcoming films like Alia Bhatt’s Alpha and the long-delayed Chakda Xpress, which stars Anushka Sharma.

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People saw my face for the first time in Criminal Justice. But this was the show that gave me more fame and popularity. It came out during the pandemic and became a phenomenal hit. I call that show my homecoming. I am the only protagonist of that show, everybody else is the antagonist. It’s a great show for me.