Porn rackets lure women with quick money, acting jobs

Kolkata: Luring women from lower-middle class families with quick money or threat of dire consequences, along with fake promises to aspiring models and actors for a break in web series industry, are ploys used to force women into pornography by multiple rackets in the city. The arrest of a cinematographer and a make-up artist in Salt Lake, who allegedly forced a woman into a steamy short video last week, followed by a similar complaint by two aspiring models in New Town on Sunday, has laid bare the tricks used by the porn industry.“They are approached by renowned photographers, videographers and make-up artists on social media to work in ad shoots or appear for web series auditions. They initially provide them with a plain script and later change it into a steamy and bold content. If the women refuse, they are either asked to pay for the shoot or are threatened with dire consequences,” said an officer of Bidhannagar Commissionerate. The presence of guest houses in Salt Lake, New Town, Baguiati and Rajarhat area make it easier to shoot these porn sequences, that are later sold to sites outside India. “Earlier too we have busted a few rackets while they were shooting inside guest houses at New Town. We have started a fresh drive and have notified the guest houses accordingly,” said another senior official. Police said, a working professional from Sodepur had complained that a photographer and a make-up artist had called her at Central Park in March for a saree shoot. She was then allegedly asked to shoot a porn sequence with a male actor. “I needed work and they had promised the video wouldn’t be released in India. But in two weeks, it had gone viral,” said the complainants. Another model in New Town alleged that she and her friend were made to participate in a porn video in the garb of a saree shoot at a Ballygunge studio.