RAKUL MAINTAINS SHE DIDN’T FACE CASTING COUCH
Rakul Preet Singh, who drew flak for saying that ‘she feels safe’ in Telugu cinema, clears her stance
Time and again, many actors from various film industries have spoken about how, at some point in time, they were asked to compromise for better work opportunities. Recently, a few female actors from South Indian film industry opened up about their brush with casting couch. However, Rakul Preet Singh, who has worked in the industry, says that she never had to face any such thing.
But, Rakul drew a lot of flak for her comment, in particular from actors Maadhavi Latha and Sri Reddy, who have been vocal about the menace of casting couch in the Telugu film industry. According to them, Rakul is painting a positive picture of the industry, so that she does not loose out on good opportunities. Maadhavi said that Rakul should speak the truth in order to create awareness against sexual exploitation. And Reddy, who recently staged a protest against sexual harassment in Tollywood by stripping in front of the office of Movie Artistes Association, added that she can make a list of filmmakers involved in it.
Rakul’s reaction to their accusations is rather interesting. She says that she doesn’t even know them. “I don’t know anything about them. I have never seen them in any film. Also, with due respect to everyone, I can only talk about my experiences. If I have not experienced casting couch, then how can I talk about it? And if they think I am lying, then I have nothing to say. I still stand by [what I’ve said]. I’ve had a great experience so far. I feel blessed,” says the actor, who has worked in films such as Venkatadri Express (2013), Current Theega (2014), Loukyam (2014), Nannaku and Prematho (2016).
Rakul adds, “It’s an opportunist world. Just [because] the film industry is always under the limelight, what is happening here is being written about, [it] becomes a hot selling point. As I always say, you won’t be cast in a film because you are easy, but because you have talent. Only talent can sail you through.”
Meanwhile, Rakul is shooting for her Bollywood film with Ajay Devgn and Tamil rom-com with Karthi. In the pipeline are two more Tamil films — one with superstar Suriya, titled NGK and the other one is a sci-fi film with Sivakarthikeyan.