Uorfi Javed says her ambitions stretch beyond the glitz of Bollywood as the social media influencer has set her sights on becoming India's premier reality TV star.
Javed, who currently appears on Prime Video's reality series "Follow Kar Lo Yaar", said conventional routes of television and Bollywood do not align with her aspirations.
"Bollywood is not the dream any more. I want to be the biggest reality TV star in India and be an entrepreneur. Today, we've so many different career options to explore, which we were not aware of and didn't think were possible to get into,” she told PTI in an interview.
Javed has attained popularity primarily due to her unique and bold fashion sense, which often garners attention on social media and in the media at large. Her style often challenges traditional norms and has sparked both praise and controversy.
She is forayed into the Indian entertainment industry in 2016 with TV shows like “Bade Bhaiyya Ki Dulhania”, “Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai”, “Kasautii Zindagii Kay”, and earlier this year, she made a cameo appearance as herself in Dibarkar Banerjee's “LSD 2” (2024).
Reflecting on her journey, Javed said it has not been an easy one.
“I started from zero, I knew no one here, had no idea how to do or get work, I had this dream to do something big here. When I came here, I found the numbers on Google of various production houses of TV and films. I called all of them in a day, asking for work. Some replied, and some didn't,” Uorfi recalled.
“On TV, I was not getting much work to do, in six months I would barely work for ten days. I was not getting to play lead roles; I was either playing the sister of the main lead or a negative role. I didn't have an important or successful career in television,” she said.
A return to the television scene is out of question now, Javed said.
“I would not like to go back to television. I'm happy being where I am right now. The fame that I've right now by doing what I do, and that's very difficult to achieve on TV," she added.
It was her appearance on the reality show “Bigg Boss” OTT (2021) as a contestant that was a major turning point in her career despite being on the show for a week.
The actor-influencer said she is “loving” every bit of her life and believes she was meant to achieve popularity unconventionally.
“I was very comfortable with fame. Somewhere all my life I knew I was meant for this, I never felt out of place. I treated fame as my best friend, I took care of it, and I made sure I was nourishing it. I never took advantage of it, maybe sometimes I did. When you treat someone with respect it respects you back.” “Follow Kar Lo Yaar”, a nine-episode series, was released on August 23 and provides an unfiltered glimpse into Uorfi's life and her journey through showbiz.
“There are times when I think, ‘There's a show on me, wow, did I do it?' But the next day, I feel, ‘Maja nahi aa raha hai, I want to do something bigger than this',” she said.
Asked about how women are judged by the way they dress, Javed said she doesn't pay attention to those who troll her for her appearances.
“The moment you try to change yourself based on those judgments you lose your authenticity, you will never become the person you've to become, that the universe has planned for you. If I had listened to those trolls, I would've never reached where I am,” she said.