Governance Now

“A casting director said if I become his girlfriend, he will flood me with good roles”

TV actress Leena Acharya narrates her #MeToo ordeal

geetanjali

Geetanjali Minhas | October 15, 2018 | Mumbai


#time up   #women safety   #Tanushree Dutta   #MJ Akbar   #molestation   #office harassment   #sexual harassment   #MeToo   #Leena Acharya  
Leena Acharya
Leena Acharya

I have been in the television industry for four years now. A director once said to me, “You have the looks but you have not done work that gives you recognition.” He said that if I join hands with him life will be easy and I will not have to go for audition anywhere. I told him to back off and never spoke to him again. 

Many young girls who come into the industry are not prepared for the struggle and want things easy. Once I was called for a movie audition at Costa Coffee. I felt weird about the location. The production girl there asked me if I liked my work and if was willing to ‘compromise’ with the coordinator, director and producer. I left the place. At another time a casting director suggested if I become his girlfriend, he will flood me with good roles and branded clothes.

 
 
 
 
Casting directors make tall promises to girls who often think they wield influence in casting for the lead roles. Girls entering the industry have an impression that close proximity with casting directors will get them roles. But their job is to only provide options for roles. It is the collective decision of the production house and channel heads to cast for important roles. Nowadays multiple casting directors are engaged to provide casting options for roles.
 
I am satisfied with work on hand. At present, I have a good role in the serial, ‘Perfect Pati’. Many of my friends are sitting without work despite their struggle for years. Others have struggled for a long time before they landed in good roles. It takes a few years in the industry to realise who or what holds water.
 
South Indian and Bhojpuri film industries are notorious for casting couch. Once I was called to audition a ‘hot’ scene for a mother’s role in a Bhojpuri film! At another time when my roommate was called to audition for a Bhojpuri film she was asked to compromise to get the role.
 
Comparatively, the television and fashion industries are safe for women and very unsafe for men and gays. They are badly harassed. My male friends often share their casting couch experiences. My friend Nikhil who had come here from Dubai to try his luck in acting was propositioned by a casting director with the promise that he will get only lead roles. But by the end of it he was so frustrated that he went back to Dubai.       
 
As told to Geetanjali Minhas

(The article appears in October 31, 2018 edition)

Comments

 

Other News

On a personal note: Javed Jaffrey

After his much-appreciated debut in Meri Jung in 1985, Javed Jaffrey inspired a new generation of dancers. He then turned from dance to comedy. The versatile actor constantly changes his styles and his live, film, TV and radio appearances always promise novelty and surprise. In 2014 he joined the Aam A

Allegations against CJI: Inquiry will strengthen the independence of the judiciary

Yes, we must stand rock solid with the judiciary and the judges. We must protect the independence of the judiciary too. What does this mean in the present context of a very serious charge of sexual harassment levelled by a former employee of the court against the CJI?  We are told that there is a larg

“Managing data is challenging”

The Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) is a society set up by the railways ministry in July 1986 to provide IT related services to the Indian Railways. CRIS deals in a gamut of functions, like passenger ticketing, freight operations, train dispatching and control, crew management, e-procurement,

A boost to those who need it most

What are 600 million people? Almost twice the population of the US. What are 500 million people? About three-fourth of the population of Europe. Why are we talking about these numbers? Well, because as per a study by Sandhya Krishnan and Neeraj Hatekar (‘Rise of New Middle Class in India and Its

Expanding Eureka!

Abright yellow van with figures of children playing with a whirligig, a Newton’s cradle, a magnetic compass rolls into the Government Higher Primary School in Kittaganahalli, on the outskirts of Bengaluru. Students in the playground leave what they are doing and mill about it in excitement. For they

The spark in the classroom

Not many children dream of starting an idyllic school of their own when they grow up. But Ramji Raghavan, founder of the Agastya International Foundation – which fosters the creative learning of science in stude



Current Issue

Current Issue

Video

CM Nitish’s convoy attacked in Buxar

Opinion

Facebook    Twitter    Google Plus    Linkedin    Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter