How talking about casting couch impacted Aradhana
It’s never easy to speak up about casting couch in Bollywood, which continues to remain a grey area of the industry. Having confessed about facing it, actor Aradhana Sharma says opening up about it comes with many consequences.
The actor, who started off her journey through reality shows and later featured in Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, shared a nasty experience where an individual tried to touch her at inappropriate places on pretext of casting for film. Even though the incident dates back to 2017, the scars remain.
“It continues to impact me, and affect me. But the reactions I got after opening up about the incident shocked and surprised me,” she tells us, adding, “I was told ‘tumhara career khatam ho sakta hai jo tumne yeh casting couch ke baare mein bola hai.’”
Sharma admits all these remarks did have an influence on her. “I went into depression, thinking I don’t even have a right to talk openly about something which has happened to me,” she shares, adding that the exact line was ‘Aap abhi utni badi ho nahi jo yeh sab bolo’.
At that time, she used to call her mum and cry thinking her career is over, and is glad all those people were proved wrong, with work coming her way steadily. Sharma clarifies the industry is not bad, but casting couch is a reality . “Just it’s not talked about much, but someone has to start, that’s what I did,” she ends.
I The reactions got after opening up about the incident shocked me. and surprised ARADHANA SHARMA,
Actor