NEW DELHI – Indian Film stars such as Radikha Apte and Usha Jadhav havespoken out in a new documentary over their concerns about sexual harassmentin the Indian film industry and fears that victims are too scared to comeforward.
In a BBC World News report to be aired over this weekend, Apte and Jadhavare among those who have opened up about the culture of silence inBollywood, mainly because its stars are so revered.
“Some people are regarded as gods. They are so powerful that people justdon’t think that my voice is going to matter, or people think that if Ispeak, probably my career is going to get ruined,” Apte tells BBC’s RajiniVaidyanathan in “Bollywood’s Dark Secret”.ADVERTISEMENT
Asked what she thought about the #metoo campaign against harassment inHollywood, the PadMan star added: “The way the women, and the men ofcourse, came together and decided that as a team we are not going to letthis happen, I wish that could happen here.
Vaidyanathan has also spoken to actresses who have faced unwanted advancesas well as stars who believe a dark secret lies behind Bollywood’s glamour.Marathi award-winning actress Jadhav reveals that it is common for powerfulmen in the industry to demand sexual favours. Describing one conversation,she says that she was told she would need to give something in return forthe opportunity she had been given.ADVERTISEMENT
“I said something as in ‘what? I don’t have money’. He said no, no, no, noit’s not about money, it’s about that you need to sleep with, maybe it canbe a producer, maybe it can be a director, it can be both too,” she said.
The documentary also interviews a 25-year-old aspiring actress who left hersmall village to chase her Bollywood dream, but says she was molested on anumber of occasions, including the first time she met a casting agent. “Hestarted telling me that for an actress you should be happy to have sex asand when possible and embrace your sexuality,” she is quoted as saying inthe documentary.
“He touched me wherever he wanted, he kissed me wherever he wanted and Iwas shocked. He put his hand inside my clothes so I asked him to stop andhe said: Do you know what, if you really want to work in this industry Idon’t think you’ve got the right attitude,” she added.
The documentary will be aired around the world on Saturday and Sunday.