Well, the heading might appear very casual for those connected closely with glamorous film industry because casting couch is quite a common phenomenon in this field. Sexual harassment is no big taboo because actresses are coming up very openly to discuss on the scary experiences they had in various stages of career.
Actress Swara Bhaskar in an interview to a top media agency spoke on casting couch which is not new in Bollywood.
‘There have been catcalls during shoots and eve teasing on one of my sets. I have been groped by a mob during promotions and during a 56 day outdoor at a remote location, when I was still fairly new, a director harassed me with texts and dinner invites.
He stalked me during the day and called me through the night. I was asked to go to his hotel room on the pretext of discussing the scene and would find him drinking. During the first week itself, he started talking about love and sex. One night, he arrived in my room drunk and asked to be hugged. It was scary! I was young and alone.
I used to switch off the lights after pack up and remove my make up in the dark so that he would think I was asleep and stop calling me,’ Swara Bhaskar explained.
‘I told my executive producer that I can’t be able to act if this continued. I finally confided in the executive producer and made sure that I was escorted everywhere,’ Swara added.
When other film makers got to know about Swara is not easy to handle, she lost a few roles. ‘As I didn’t give in to their desires, I lost many offers. It made me vulnerable and nervous. Some people even stopped responding to my messages because they knew I would not give in,’ Swara’s boldness should inspire many others.