When Ankita Lokhande was asked to ‘sleep with a producer’; actress recalls her casting couch experience

TV actress Ankita Lokhande revealed that she faced the casting couch twice in her life; one when she entered the TV industry and the second time when she transitioned from TV to films.

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. 

Big stars like Kangana Ranaut, Swara Bhaskar, Kalki Koechlin, Surveen Chawla, Chitrangada Singh, Mamta Kulkarni and others dared to speak about their daunting experiences.

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. 

First, it was at the beginning of her career and second, when she was trying to transition from TV to films. 

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?’”

"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.

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.”