Heard this? Radhika Apte and Marathi actress Usha Jadhav have finally
come out in the open and spoken about the existence of casting couch in
the industry and Bollywood’s Dark Secret seems to be finally out. Usha
Jadhav’s revelation was more shocking.
BBC World News will air the full-length documentary
Bollywood’s Dark Secret on
Saturday 28thApril at 12.40pm IST in
which Bollywood actresses speak out about their experiences of sexual
harassment in the Indian film industry, and discuss whether the #MeToo
movement can also come to Bollywood. Bollywood’s Dark Secret, the
documentary will be aired on BBC World News Saturday afternoon.
Award-winning actress Usha Jadhav tells BBC World News it is common
for powerful men in the industry to demand sexual favours. Describing
one conversation, she says that she was told she would need to give
something in return for the opportunity she had been given.
She says:
“I said something as in what? I don’t have money. He said no, no,
no, no it’s not about money, it’s about that you need to sleep with,
maybe it can be a producer, maybe it can be a director, it can be both
too.”
BBC World News’ Rajini Vaidyanathan also speaks to a 25-year-old
aspiring actress who left her small village to chase her Bollywood
dream, but says she was molested on a number of occasions, including the
first time she met a casting agent.
She says:
“He started telling me that for an actress you should be happy to have sex as and when possible and embrace your sexuality.”
“He touched me wherever he wanted, he kissed me wherever he
wanted and I was shocked. He put his hand inside my clothes, so I asked
him to stop and he said: ‘Do you know what, if you really want to work
in this industry I don’t think you’ve got the right attitude.”
Radhika Apte said:
“Some people are regarded as Gods. They are so powerful that
people just don't think that my voice is going to matter, or people
think that if I speak, probably my career is going to get ruined." She
also added that she hoped that something similar to the way both men and
women in Hollywood came together for the #MeToo campaign and decided
that they won't let it happen anymore, happened in India too."
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