Casting couch is an old topic in the glam world, and it has many a time-proven that it been there in the film industry for several decades. A lot of actresses and models have faced it and was also vocal about it.
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Big stars like Kangana Ranaut, Swara Bhaskar, Kalki Koechlin, Surveen Chawla, Chitrangada Singh, Mamta Kulkarni and others dared to speak about their daunting experiences.
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Recently, TV actress Ankita Lokhande opened up about it and recalled her casting couch experience where she was asked to ‘sleep with a producer.’ She also mentioned, it not just happened once, but she had faced it twice.
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First, it was at the beginning of her career and second, when she was trying to transition from TV to films.
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When Ankita just was started to look for a role in TV or film, she was told to compromise exchange for a role in the movie. In an interview with Bollywood Bubble she said, “I was so smart, I was alone in that room and was 19 or 20 years old, and asked him, ‘Which type of compromise does your producer want? Do I have to go for parties or dinners?’”
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"And the moment he said it, maine uski band baja di thi (I took him to task). I told him, ‘I think your producer wants a girl to sleep with, not a very talented girl to work with.’ And I left from there. He then apologized and said he will try to take me to his film. But I said, ‘If you try and take me in also, I’m not interested in your film,’” she added.
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Speaking about her other casting couch experience, Ankita 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.”
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