# TV actor Niki Aneja says influencers are pushing talented actors out of jobs 2026-08-27T00:32:38+00:00 | Entertainment | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Television actor Niki Aneja has said that many talented actors are losing work to social media influencers who command millions of followers. She said influencers and actors should have separate professional spaces. "Only time I feel sad is when I see many talented actors sitting at home or losing jobs to influencers with X million followers," Aneja told Avstv. She added that she does not hold grudges against content creators, calling their work commendable and a disciplined job. "But somewhere I feel there should be a bifurcation between the spaces of actors and influencers," she said. Aneja rose to fame playing Dr Simran in the daily soap Astitva...Ek Prem Kahani (2002). ## Indian Opinion Analysis The tension between traditional entertainment and the influencer economy is not new, but Aneja's comments highlight a structural shift in casting. Television and film casting in India is still largely informal, with no standardised audition data, making it hard to measure how many roles actually go to influencers over trained actors. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) reported in 2024 that the creator economy in India was worth approximately Rs 1,400 crore and growing at over 20% annually. As platforms like YouTube, Instagram and OTT services blur the lines, no regulatory body or industry guild currently monitors or separates the casting pools for actors versus content creators. The next real signal will be whether producers' bodies or casting directors publicly adopt any bifurcation of roles. ## Coverage - cinemaexpress.com Leads with and frames the entire story around Aneja's critical view of influencer hiring, neutral on the claim itself. This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Astitva...Ek Prem Kahani, influencers, Niki Aneja, television Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/tv-actor-niki-aneja-says-influencers-are-pushing-talented-actors-out-of-jobs/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/tv-actor-niki-aneja-says-influencers-are-pushing-talented-actors-out-of-jobs/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/