Elaborating on the horrifying and exploitative circumstances that upcoming female talents have to face in the film industry, noted South Indian actress Aishwarya Rajesh opened up about a bitter experience she had during her earlier years in the industry.
The Tamil Nadu State Film Award-winning actor talked about how she managed to slide away from predatory behaviour at the last moment during her formative years in the industry. It was on a podcast hosted by Nikhil Vijayendra Simha that the 36-year-old actress spoke about a time when a photographer tried to misbehave with her.
What did Aishwarya Rajesh say?
The Kaaka Muttai actress said that she visited the photographer for an assignment along with her brother. This was many years ago and the siblings were young. When they arrived at the proposed shooting destination, the photographer welcomed her in, while her brother was asked to remain in the waiting area, News18 quoted the actress as saying.
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Once inside, the man handed her lingerie to wear and said, "I want to see your body," the report quoted Aishwarya Rajesh as saying. Although she was vulnerable and almost did as asked, her instincts kicked in, she reportedly recollected. She smartly told the man that she needed her brother's permission to don the said costume and fled the room. While she didn't dare to tell her sibling how things had unfolded inside, Aishwarya Rajesh said it was an example of the challenges faced by young actresses, and she was certain many others would have had similar experiences.
She also faced public humiliation once when a director scolded her in front of many artists on a film set and compared her to others. The reason for his rage was her showing up a few minutes late, News18 quoted her as saying in the podcast.
Karuppar Nagaram and Mohandas in Tamil, and Uttarakaanda in Kannada, are her upcoming movies. In Malayalam, Aishwarya Rajesh was last seen alongside Tovino Thomas in ARM.