Sanchita
Casting couch incidents – are when filmmakers or industry people in power try to take advantage of aspiring actors by asking for sexual favours in return for roles.
Be it actresses like Kalki Koechlin, Kangana Ranaut or actors like Ranveer Singh, Ayushmann Khurrana, many celebs have faced this dark reality of the film industry!
Ankita Lokhande is the latest person to talk about her own experience with this ugly side of the glamour world. In an interview with Bollywood Bubble, the TV-turned-movie actress revealed that she has faced casting couch TWICE!
The first time it happened was when she was around 19-20 years old and was summoned to audition for a South movie.
“I feel I am a very strong personality. I don’t let anybody look at me also like that. I’m like ‘Don’t you dare to do that.’ I think I have faced it twice. Long ago, when I was small and immature, I was called for a South movie.”
“He called me into his room and said, ‘You will have to compromise.’ I was so smart, I was alone in that room and was 19 or 20 years old, so I asked him, ‘Which type of compromise does your producer want? Do I have to go to parties or dinners?”
When she realised the offer was to sleep with the producer she told off the person – “I think your producer wants a girl to sleep with, not a very talented girl to work with.” The man then tried to apologise and told her he would give her a role but Ankita shut him down immediately.
“Even if you try casting me now, I’m not interested in your film.” She told him.
The Pavitra Rishta actress got the creep vibes from a ‘BIG ACTOR’ also, though she did not name him.
She said, “When I got back again into films, I felt it again, just shaking hands with that person. I don’t want to take names, he was a big actor. I got those vibes, and I quickly got my hands away from him. I knew it, ab mera yahaan nahi hoga (it will not work out for me), because it is a give and take thing. I understood and I left from there because it was not for me.”
We applaud the actress for not giving in and standing her own ground during these unpleasant experiences. Ankita has appeared in Bollywood movies like ‘Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi’ and ‘Baaghi 3’.
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