Actor Ankita Lokhande recently opened up about her casting couch experiences. In an interview with Bollywood Bubble, Ankita said that she had experienced the horror twice, once while starting out and another time when she was a successful television actor and was looking to transition to films.
Ankita told the publication that the first incident took place when she was very young and called in to audition for a South film. She said she was asked to 'compromise' if she wanted the role.
“I was so smart, I was alone in that room and was 19 or 20 years old, and asked him, ‘Which type of compromise does your producer want? Do I have to go for parties or dinners?’”Ankita Lokhande, Actor
Ankita said she wanted to avoid the situation wherein she would be asked to 'sleep with a producer'. “And the moment he said it, maine uski band baja di thi (I took him to task). I told him, ‘I think your producer wants a girl to sleep with, not a very talented girl to work with.’ And I left from there. He then apologised and said he will try to take me to his film. But I said, ‘If you try and take me in also, I’m not interested in your film,’” she added.
The actor continued that the second such incident she encountered was when she was thinking of trying her hands at films. "When I got back again into films, I felt it again, just shaking hands with that person. I don’t want to take names, he was a big actor. I got those vibes. I knew it, ab mera yahaan nahi hoga (it will not work out for me), because it is a give and take thing. I understood and left", Ankita told Bollywood Bubble.
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