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4 G-View GPLUS SEP 14 - SEP 20, 2013 RAHUL CHANDA It is an indecent proposal and quid pro quo of the exploitative kind. The young, starry-eyed girls who dream of fame and glamour find themselves jolted to sordid reality when a producer, director or actor asks them ‘to come over and meet them alone’ and take things forward. Casting couch has remained a much-debated subject in the Hindi film industry, with some denying it outright while others claiming that the ugly truth is often swept under the rug. Many directors and producers have found themselves at the receiving end of accusations of having not just made the indecent proposal but in some cases, sexually exploiting the girl in question too. The jury is still out on how much truth is there in the accusations or the denials. In April 2013, the President of India gave assent to the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. The Act was enacted to provide protection against sexual harassment of women at workplaces and for the prevention and redressal of complaints of sexual harassment and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. No matter how many times the government tries reworking various laws to provide a secure environment to the women, the fact remains that females are almost always vulnerable anywhere in the country. No matter what the profession is, harassment and exploitation of women still exists. As the fashion, the glamour and the film industries are beckoning almost everyone these days, there has also been a rise in cases related to casting couches. Casting couch The casting couch, castingcouch syndrome or casting-couch mentality is a term which refers to the trading of sexual favours by an aspirant, apprentice employee or subordinate to a superior in return for entry into an occupation or for other career advancements within an organisation. The term “casting couch” originated in the motion picture industry, with specific reference to couches in offices that could be used for sexual activity between the casting directors or film producers and aspiring actresses or actors. It is not to be confused with the adult entertainment industry where such actions may be a prerequisite, although many pornographic films play on the casting couch theme and allude to similarities one may find in casting couch scenarios in the film industry. The term is now often used to refer to other industries besides entertainment, though careers which are highly desirable and traditionally difficult to break into, such as the movie, television and music industries, have been the subject of casting couch stories in popular culture. Such trading of favours is an abuse of power and can become a wider sex scandal if deemed newsworthy. Cases in Hindi film industry There are many examples when actors were exploited with promises that they will get an opportunity to act in Bollywood films. A typical “casting couch” case occurred Casting couch & Assamese films In the Assamese film industry circles, people always speak in hushed tones about the existence of casting couches. We tried to find out the truth behind it but soon discovered that no one is very comfortable speaking about the subject, for SEX the fear of being singled out or worse. “It is very tough for people to get a role these days. And after you get the role, one has to be always listening to the director and Identity the producer. Some producers are always keen to talk to the female actor and make indecent approaches. They purposefully witheld make the situation such that they get time to spend with the actor. The directors also feel that they are the kings and the actor will do whatever they say. I firmly believe that there are casting couches in the Assamese film industry and I also understand that people might ask why the females should allow such things to happen. But at times, the situation is uncontrollable and you also a worry about the family. People are also worried about their careers. It is not explainable but the situations are mostly unreported for various reasons.” in India in 2004, when actress Preeti Jain filed a police complaint alleging that film director Madhur Bhandarkar had sexually exploited her for many years and made false promises to cast her in a lead role in his next film. She stated that she was never offered any role in any of his films. According to Jain, Bhandarkar repeatedly had sex with her between 1999 and 2004 at Natraj Apartment at Yari Road, Hotel Seaside at Juhu and at Bhandarkar’s friend’s (Akbar) flat at Mount Mary Road, Bandra. In 2005, India TV’s India’s Most Wanted, an investigative TV show, caught Indian Idol host Aman Verma and long time Bollywood actor Shakti Kapoor in a “sting” operation and accused them of abusing their positions to force women to have sex with them. They even produced video evidence of Kapoor making advances to a planted girl, in which Kapoor tells the girl that superstars Aishwarya Rai, Rani Mukerji and Preity Zinta slept with people such as Subhash Ghai, Yash Chopra and Yash Johar to get where they were. Verma, Kapoor and most of the Bollywood industry have defended themselves, calling India TV’s claims unfounded and sensational and claimed that the video footage of Kapoor is misleading. In 2009, Indian actress Suchitra Krishnamoorthi reported an incident in her blog where she narrowly escaped sexual advances from a producer while casting for a film role. Payal Rohatgi had raised the spectre of sex-for-role bargain by accusing director Dibakar Banerjee of having asked her to take her top off when she auditioned for a role for his film Shanghai. Rohatgi claimed that she and Dibakar became friends over time and she was shocked when he allegedly made the indecent proposal. She said that she did not get the role in the film because she refused to submit to Banerjee’s demand. Banerjee, on the other hand, claims that Payal was not in a sound state of mind and he never made any such proposal. He admitted helping her in times of her personal crisis, but claimed that Payal was maligning him because she was rejected for the role.
GPLUS SEP 14 - SEP 20, 2013 5 G-View FOR STARDOM Casting couch and Assamese film industry Recently, there was a controversy reported in the Assamese theatre industry where an actor accused a proprietor of misbehaving with her and approached her for some sexual favours. She reported the incident to the police and other people after which the media reported the incident and it went viral. The proprietor claimed innocence and said that the charges were baseless and framed. Delving deep into the scenario, we discussed the issue with people involved with the film fraternity. Victims A young actor, Priyashree Kashyap, who recently acted in a yet to be released Assamese film, narrated her story of escape from a casting couch incident. She said, “I was in the sets of my film and after the shoot we were eating dinner when a director (as he claimed to be one) came and sat next to me. He was introduced to me by a common friend but never had a long conversation previously. As I was doing my first feature film, he asked me about my future plans and started talking about various scripts which he was working on. He then asked me how far I could go or sacrifice in life to become successful. He was talking about films like Jism 2 and asked me if I was ready to show flesh, as it was important and that all the successful actors did it these days. His approach was somewhat different and I could feel that his intensions were not decent. I became a bit rude and he told me that if I didn’t listen to him, I would not be selected for his films. I told him that I don’t care and never met him after that day.” Another young actor Pranami Bora said, “Casting couch does exist in the Assamese film industry.” Before joining films, I was related to theatre. I was also preparing for the interview to get into the National School of Drama (NSD). Once, while I was rehearsing, a director came to me claiming that he could give me tips, which would help me get into NSD. I thought he might guide me well as he was a director. He asked me to come to his place. I sat in his car and was on the way to his house, when he started talking to me in a different way. This made me believe that he was trying to flirt with me. He was boasting about his work and was claiming that he could change my life. He then told me that in the film industry you have to sacrifice many things to achieve success. He said that when people are together for two to three months, they become physically and mentally close in the process. I got scared and as soon as we reached near his place, I told him that I left my purse in the studio and took his permission to leave. He became angry and retorted that I would never achieve success. I left the place and never met him again.” A city based young model and an actor feels that people in the Assamese film industry look at females as sex objects. She said, “It is very tough for people to get a role these days. And after you get the role, one has to be always listening to the director and the producer. Some producers are always keen to talk to the female actor and make indecent approaches. They purposefully make the situation such that they get time to spend with the actor. The directors also feel that they are the kings and the actor will do whatever they say. During the nights, they drink on the sets and always try to flirt. I have also had some very pathetic situations but luckily escaped. I firmly believe that there are casting couches in the Assamese film industry and I also understand that people might ask why the females should allow such things to happen. But at times, the situation is uncontrollable and you also a worry about the family. People are also worried about their careers. It is not explainable but the situations are mostly unreported for various reasons.” The other side It is true that people take advantage of their positions, but people are also ready, these days, to do anything to fulfil their dreams. Some aspiring actors can go to any extent and sacrifice all values to make it big in life. Popular Assamese film actor Rabi Sharma said, “I have never seen any such incident in the film industry so I feel the concept doesn’t exist here. But some people forget that there is no shortcut to success. It totally depends from person to person as anyone can understand the approach and the intentions and if you do not like it than one can reject the offer. Some people feel that sacrificing values and taking a shortcut can provide success, which is absolutely incorrect.” Assamese film actor Zerifa Wahid is of the view that people fall prey to such situations when they are very desperate for name, fame and roles. She said, “It’s not just newcomers but even experienced people fall into the trap as they express signs that for roles, they could do anything. People who worship “It’s not just newcomers but even experienced people fall into the trap as they express signs that for roles, they could do anything. People who worship their profession and believe in their talent do not have to face such incidents. But people who are desperate and act as if they are available, can be trapped.” Zerifa Wahid Assamese actor their profession and believe in their talent do not have to face such incidents. But people who are desperate and act as if they are available, can be trapped. I appeal to the artistes not to be desperate for anything and should not opt for a shortcut to success.” A well know film director Diganta Mazumdar said that the Assamese film industry is very small and there are very few artistes and technical people. He said, “The concept of casting couch is not totally false but there are some people who have money and they produce films to become popular. They feel that if they make films they can enjoy life and target females to fulfil their desires. Some fall into trap and some don’t. Newcomers and people who are not that talented mostly fall into this trap as they need shortcuts to excel in life.” The mixed views give an idea that the casting couch exists in the Assamese film industry and it also depends upon person to person. But till when people will keep exploiting others, promising handsome returns? When will this shortcut method end in such industries and how will the government make sure that such incidents do not happen? Who is to be blamed for such cases, the one who exploits or the person who gets exploited?
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