No doubt, Bollywood industry is exotic and glamorous, but there are some dark facts which you might never see on screen. Well, these facts will always remain censored, so as to save gossip and humiliation. Many a times, actresses face awkward situations, which they can never discuss openly. Yes, we are talking about casting couch in the industry. Again, you can’t generalize the industry as there are many genuine people who are totally away from such creepy things and focus only on work.
Luckily, actresses nowadays are taking a firm stand and speaking against this practice; one such actress who was asked to compromise for a film role is Sulagna Chaterjee.
Sulagna has essayed some excellent roles in “Saubhagyavati Bhava” (Sia), Mrs.Pammi Pyarelal (Bubbly), Sanskar-Dharohar Apnon ki (Komal), and Mahadev (Lakshmi’s sister). Apart from this, she has been seen in few episodes of Crime Patrol.
She shared her casting couch experience on Instagram and we are glad that she strongly opposed it by saying a NO; for Sulagna, dignity mattered more than money and this is the reason, she boldly refused the offer. Here’s what she shared on Instagram;
The caption read, “When such offers are so common that you are not even affected anymore!”
In an exclusive interview to RVCJ, Sulagna says,
“Although Bollywood industry consists of many genuine people, these casting couch offers have made way to it. This has a detrimental effect on the talent. Actresses who are talented but not ready to compromise, lose a platform to display their talent. On the other hand, less talented actresses get good roles because they agree to compromise.”
However, she says that luckily she has come across many genuine people in the industry who have valued her talent and have given her a good platform, without putting her in such awkward situations.
Sulagna further adds,
“This practice can be stopped if actresses raise their voice against such things. If 10 actresses are called for audition and if 9 of them refuse to compromise, this practice can be curbed, however, if 5 out of 10 agree to do so, just to bag a role, this practice can never be uprooted from the industry.”
Sulagna also has an advice for newbies in the industry. She says that if a director is a genuine one, he will always be concerned about the project and this will reflect in the discussions. On the other hand, if he’s interested in compromise, he will try to get personal and will invite actresses for parties; he might get too sweet at times.
To conclude, Sulagna said that taking the offer completely depends on the actress. If she’s ready to compromise, it’s totally her choice, but she shouldn’t regret it later. After all, one has to choose between 2 things i.e. Money or dignity.
