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HAVE BEEN HARASSED IN SOUTH INDIAN AND HINDI FILMS: AMYRA

Citing an incident, actor Amyra Dastur says that ironically she was made to apologise to the one who harassed her

With the #MeToo movement gaining momentum in India, now actor Amyra Dastur has come forward with her story. She has been a victim of “harassment” but as of now she doesn’t have the guts to name and shame them.

Amyra has shared screen space with actors Saif Ali Khan, Emraan Hashmi and Prateik Babbar in films Kaalakaandi (2017), Mr. X (2015) and Issaq (2013), respectively. She also starred in Kung Fu Yoga (2017) with martial artist and actor Jackie Chan. The 25-year-old has also featured in Tamil and Telugu movies.

Did Amyra face the infamous casting couch at any point? “To be honest, I haven’t faced casting couch. But yes, I have faced harassment in both industries. I don’t have the guts to name them because they are powerful people — men and women who made sure I felt helpless.”

However, she says that one day she will “definitely call them out on it”. “But until I don’t feel safe and secure, I won’t point fingers. They know exactly who they are and what they have done. What I will say for now is that they better stop their discriminating ways because there’s a wave of change coming and their status won’t be enough to protect them from Karma,” she says.

Citing an incident, Amyra reveals, “I have had an actor squeeze himself up against me during a shot in a song and whisper in my ear that he was so glad that I was in the film with him. When I threw him off me and refused to speak to him again, he made my experience miserable. My director told me to suck it up and couldn’t care less. I was constantly called early to set, made to wait for hours for my shot. I was made to shoot 18 hours a day, and I slept for 4-5 hours if I was lucky.”

The actor says that ultimately “the producer” made her apologise to him “for my difficult behaviour (as I kept ignoring him)”.

PHOTO: PRODIP GUHA/HT Actor Amyra Dastur warns those who harassed her, saying their status won’t be enough to protect them from karma