The term casting couch may sound quite familiar for all those who are followers of B-Town news. While many celebrities turn a blind eye to it, there have always been instances were someone or the other has come out in the open to reveal an incident that pin points its existence in Bollywood. This time, that someone is Mallika Sherawat.
Back in the early 2000s, Mallika was known for her sizzling on-screen persona. She shot to fame with the erotic thriller Murder and has always left her audience wide-eyed ever since. But in a recent interview with PTI, she revealed that all that came at a price of people thinking that she was someone who would ‘compromise’ easily. Mallika did not hold back when she told the world that her choice of roles made her an easy target to be judged by the audience as well as people within the industry.
She said,
There were so many accusations and judgements on me. If you wear short skirts, kiss on screen then you’re a fallen woman with no morals. Men tend to take liberties with you. This happened with me too.
Mallika also revealed that she was thrown out of several projects just because she refused to get intimate off-screen with the people involved in those films.
I was thrown out of projects because heroes would say ‘why can’t you be intimate with me? You can do it on screen, what’s the problem in doing that with me in private?’ I’ve lost so many projects. It’s very reflective of the society, what women deal with in our country.
She further added that she was aware that her choices were unconventional and believes that she could have done much better if she wasn’t going against the system. She even went on to talk about how her story, where she came from and what she battled was overlooked and everything revolved around her kissing scenes.
She recalled a rather uncomfortable interview in which the interviewer asked her overtly sexual questions.
I cringe when I watch it today. I had just begun my career, ‘Murder’ had released and I was so intimidated by this lecherous old man. There was no support for me, I felt so lonely, that was so painful.
It’s crazy that we live in the 21st century and people time and again feel the need to not only judge women for whatever they do, but also tell us what we should be wearing.
It’s time we change this mindset, don’t you think?
To make it loud and clear, the length of your clothes has never determined how open you are to getting intimate. Same goes for how comfortable or friendly you are with people.