Bollywood is no stranger to the casting couch and many celebrities over the years have opened up about the infamous practice in the industry. Shedding light on the same, actress Isha Koppikar revealed how she once faced the casting couch. Scroll down to read more.
In a latest interview with Siddharth Kannan on his YouTube channel, Isha Koppikar recalled how once a former Bollywood A-lister called her all alone sans her driver and secretary.
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In the interview, Isha Koppikar opened up about casting couch sharing, “It was never about what you can do. Heroes and actors used to decide. You have heard about #MeToo, and if you had values, it was very difficult. Many actresses left the industry during my time. Either the girls gave in or they gave up. There are very few who are still in the industry and haven’t given up, and I am one of them.”
Koppikar further stated, “I was 18 when a secretary and an actor approached me for casting couch. They told me that to get work, you have to be ‘friendly’ with actors. I am very friendly, but what does ‘friendly’ mean? I am so friendly that Ekta Kapoor once told me to have some attitude.”
She then shared, “One actor asked me to meet him alone, without my driver or anyone else, because there were rumours about him being involved with other actresses. He said, ‘There are already controversies about me, and the staff spreads rumours.’”
The Don actress added, “But I refused him and told him that I couldn’t come alone. He was an A-list actor from the Hindi film industry. I must be around 22-23 years old that time.” The actress, however, refused to name the actor.
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She also mentioned how many would inappropriately touch her and advise her to make sleazy friends with the heroes.
On the work front, Isha Koppikar is best known for her movies like Fiza, Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat, Company, Kaante, Pinjar, and Dil Ka Rishta. She also starred in Don alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra.
In 2009, Koppikar married Timmy Narang, a hotelier. It is said that after meeting in a gym, they fell in love. Before they began dating, the two had been friends for three years. Although their daughter Rianna was welcomed by Isha and Timmy in July 2014, the couple split up earlier this year.
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