After Bollywood's veteran choreographer kicked up a row for her comments on casting couch, Radhika Apte and Marathi actress Usha Jadhav have spoken about sexual exploitation in the entertainment industry.
The actresses have voiced their anguish and concerns in a BBC documentary titled Bollywood's Dark Secrets, to be aired this weekend. "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," said Radhika Apte, according to a report in Mid-Day.
Award-winning actress Usha Jadhav spoke about how powerful men in the industry demand sexual favours. She opened up about an instance where she was told she had give something in return for the opportunity she was offered. "I said something on the lines of, 'What? I don't have money'. He said, 'No, no, no, no. It's not about money, it's about you sleeping with, maybe it can be a producer, maybe it can be a director, it can be both too,” Jadhav said.
If MeToo campaign sent shock waves across Hollywood, India is yet to witness such a massive movement. In what is often referred to as Tollywood's MeToo moment, Telugu actress Sri Reddy has come out in protest of sexual exploitation and casting couch. Recently, Sri Reddy, stripped and staged a protest, demanding justice for not getting work in Telugu film industry. Following her protest, the Movie Artistes Association (MAA), an apex body of the Telugu film industry, had said the aspiring actor would not be made a member of the organisation. Things got dirty as she went on television and abused actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan for his advice on how to deal with casting couch. The derogatory language used has angered fans and other actors alike.
On Tuesday, choreographer stirred a hornet's nest with her comments on casting couch. Saroj Khan has said it's done with consent and at least provides livelihood.
The 69-year-old, who has choreographed more than 2,000 songs in her career, further said the 'tradition' has been going on since centuries and blaming just Bollywood is unfair.
"This is going on from 'baba Adam's times', it is not new. Someone or the other always tries to take an advantage of a girl. The government officials do it too, then why are we only behind the film industry? It provides livelihood at least," she said.