From Ankit Gupta to Uorfi Javed: TV celebs who revealed their casting couch experience

Casting Couch has long been a stigma in the world of entertainment, and many performers have bravely shared their experiences with directors and other cast members. It doesn’t just happen in Bollywood but also in Hollywood and many stars have revealed about facing the casting couch experience while some haven't. Ankit Gupta opened up about an early event, while Uorfi Javed had complained about a casting director on her social media and slammed the director for asking her to compromise for a music video.

Here are some other celebrities who revealed about casting couch experience:

In a recent interview, Ankit recalled an experience on the casting couch from his early days in the industry. Ankit added that he was told at the start of his career that in order to stay in the profession, one must be willing to sacrifice. Even the great names had made tremendous sacrifices to get to where they were.

Ankit described the entire episode as the "worst experience of his life." He even said that he was astonished as he tried to tell the individual that he couldn't do all of this, that he wasn't that type of guy, but the person was quite intent on touching him. Ankit stated that he was informed, “Okay, you don't want to do it but at least let me touch it. Upar se hi hai. I was shocked and said to myself 'What is happening?”

Divyanka Tripathi opened out about her terrifying experience on the casting couch after she was asked for an inappropriate request. She revealed this in an interview with a website, “You complete a show, and your struggle resumes. There was a period when money was limited. I had to pay my expenses, EMIs, and so on. There was a great deal of pressure. Then an offer comes, 'You have to be with this director and you'll have a big break'. But why should I? 'You are incredibly intelligent, this and that,' they said. Selling it off as if it will make my life, and everyone else is doing it.”

Kishwer Merchant also spoke about the time when she was asked to sleep with the hero for a project. "It happened with me when I had gone for a meeting, but just once. My mother was accompanying me. I was told that I'll have to sleep with the hero. I politely turned down the offer and we left. I wouldn't say ki ye bahut hota hai or it's a normal thing. Industry badnaam hai lekin har industry mein ye cheez hoti hai."

Anupamaa actress Madalsa Sharma was also solicited for favours, but she declined and left. In an interview with ETimes TV, Madalsa revealed “Being a girl or in today's times, being a guy, both are equally scary. In any profession, be it an actress or a corporate firm, wherever you go, for a female, there are going to be men around you. Sometimes, you come across people who are probably a little more interested in things that you are not at all willing to offer as a person, as an actor, or as an employee, it's your choice.

Madalsa added “Good and bad things go hand in hand but at the end of the day, nobody can take away your choice from you. People can try to influence you but getting or not getting influenced are two drastically different things. Personally, whenever I have felt uncomfortable in anybody's presence or during a meeting, what to do? Just get up and walk out of that door. Nobody's going to stop me or close the door and not let me go anywhere. So, it's always been my personal choice.”

Kaveri Priyam opened out about her casting couch incident in an interview with ETimes TV, revealing that she had sobbed her eyes out that day, she said “I remember once a casting director made an indecent proposal to me. I just cried so much after the incident. I sat in an autorickshaw and cried my eyes out because I had given up everything and come to Mumbai to become an actress and this is the way I was treated. I started thinking that “kya sach mein log aise shortcuts leke aage badhte hain” and there is no value for talent. I was so confused and I ended up crying."

She further stated, “I was very sure I wouldn't be able to do it. There were other incidents when I was asked to pay a huge amount to get a break. It demotivated me. Ultimately, there were moments when I broke down and called up my family. They guided me and pumped me, not to give up. Then I met the right people who guided me and asked me to go for real auditions.”

Saath Nibhana Saathiya 2 fame Sneha Jain spoke with ETimes TV about her casting couch experience. She stated “Once I got a call from a South’s casting director. He offered me a film which was about college going students. I sent them my profile and photographs and the next day I got a call from him saying that I will have to travel to Hyderabad to meet the director and the producer. I agreed to travel but asked him to give me the details of the film. I informed him that I would travel with my mother. Then he told me that there is one condition that I have to compromise with him. I was shocked. He told me that the day I reach Hyderabad, I will be given hotel details where I will meet the director and after I sign the contract papers, he will give me half the amount. He further told me that the entire day I will have to spend with the director and do whatever he says.”

Shama spoke candidly about her horrific casting couch experience in an interview with ETimes TV. She had said: “Those days remind me of my challenges, how difficult life was back then. I wish I knew, I wish I had this wisdom at that time, I could have reduced my challenges. I felt very deeply and I felt my trauma very deeply. I fell into my core and that’s why I fell into depression. I wouldn’t have slipped into depression had I had the wisdom I have today.”

Athar had told BT that he lost assignments owing to the casting couch because he refused to give what they asked for. He revealed “Casting couch exists in showbiz and I have been at the receiving end of it. But I didn’t buckle under pressure. I lost a few projects because I didn’t compromise. I am tough otherwise but when work suffered, it did impact me emotionally and mentally.”

Uorfi Javed had complained on the internet about a casting director's sexual assault attempts on her. She posted screenshots of girls confronting the director in public, claiming that he pressured her to 'compromise' for a music video. Urfi also called him a "sexual predator." Urfi also added that she wants young women to recognise that they are unsafe in his presence. She further wrote “I work hard for my money, demanding my own money isn't a crime, but sexually assaulting young girls is, you b**ch!”