MUMBAI – Bollywood actress Fatima Sana Shaikh, known for her role in the successful film Dangal, has shared her experience regarding casting couch in the South Indian film industry.
In a recent interview, Fatima Sana revealed that at the beginning of her career, she encountered instances of sexual exploitation in exchange for work in the South Indian film industry.
Her interview has gone viral on social media, where she mentioned that in the early days, she believed that working in South Indian films would pave the way for opportunities in Bollywood. She recalled receiving a call from a casting agent offering her a role, but during the conversation, he kept making provocative remarks, which she ignored.
Fatima stated that later, the agent messaged her, asking if she was willing to do “everything.” She responded, saying, “Yes, I will work hard for my role and do whatever is required for the character,”.
However, the person continued asking suggestive questions, persistently inquiring whether she was truly ready to do “everything.” She deliberately acted as if she did not understand his implications, just to see how far he would go. Eventually, frustrated, he spoke openly about his intentions.
Sharing another incident, Fatima mentioned a small-time producer in Hyderabad who repeatedly made innuendos, saying things like, “Here, you have to meet certain people, you have to do certain things,” but he never explicitly stated his demands.
The actress emphasized that not everyone in the industry is like this, but exploitation does exist, and it should not happen.
It may be mentioned here that after Dangal, Fatima Sana Shaikh remained in the headlines due to her close association with Aamir Khan. She was even speculated to be the reason behind Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao’s separation.
Reacting to such rumors, Fatima had previously stated, “I don’t want people to think negatively, but I have learned to ignore such things. However, sometimes, such comments still hurt me,”.
