Bharti Singh: Those closest to me discouraged me from join the entertainment industry

In her recent interview with Kareena Kapoor Khan, much-loved television personality and comedian Bharti Singh opened up about her struggle and being discouraged by her family to pursue a career in the entertainment industry.

Bharti was Kareena's most recent guest on her chat show, Dabur Vita What Women Want Season 4. The episode was released on Mirchi Plus' YouTube channel. 

When she was asked about the increasing competition in the stand-up comedy circuit, Bharti told Kareena, "I do not think that the competition has increased that much on television. It may have increased on OTT platforms. There are very few comedians in India, because most girls want to be actors and see themselves on film posters. Which is why on TV especially, the number of female comedians is very less."

She continued, "When I decided to take part in comedy shows, my close relatives discouraged me a lot, and asked me why I want to be a joker. They asked me things like what will happen to me if boys say something dirty, because there are so many male comedians. As a young girl who was 18 years old, I heard so many discouraging words from my family that I was determined to prove them wrong."

Bharti credits her success to her mother, a single parent from a lower-middle-class family, who supported her to go to Mumbai from Amritsar.  

"After the audition round, when I was told to go to Mumbai, my mother had the courage to travel with me, thinking that even if I can't make it big in Mumbai, I shouldn't regret not trying. I am really thankful to my mother for bringing me to Mumbai, since there has been no looking back since." she shared.