Shivya Pathania & TV Actresses Open Up About Facing Casting Couch

Recently, Shivya Pathania who stars as Goddess Parvati in Baal Shiva - Mahadeva Ki Andekhi Gatha shares her encounter with casting couch. Many people in industry have faced such situations and Shivya is also one of them.

Shivya Pathania

In a recent interview with Hindustan Times, she said that after her show Humsafars went off-air, she was called for an audition in Santacruz.

“I entered the room, it was very small. The guy (who was supposed to be the producer) told me if you want to do this advertisement with a bigger celebrity, you will have to compromise. The funniest part that I will never forget is uske laptop pe Hanuman Chalisa chal rahi thi. It was so funny that mujhe hassi aa gayi. I started laughing. I asked, ‘Aapko sharam nahin aa rahi hai? Aap bhajan sun rahe ho aur aap kya bol rahe ho’,” she said.

This is not the first time an actor shared about their casting couch experience. Other TV actresses also opened up about their casting couch stories. Read on to know more.

Divyanka Tripathi

In an interview with Bollywood Bubble, she shared that “You finish a show, and then your struggle starts again. There was a time when there was no money. I had to pay my bills, EMIs, etc. There was a lot of pressure. Then an offer comes, ‘You have to be with this director and you’ll get a big break’. But why me? I was told that ‘you are really intellectual, this, that.’ Selling it off like my life will be made just by that and everyone is doing it.”

Kishwer Merchant

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Kishwer Merchant has been a part of the industry since a long time and she also had to face the same. In an interview with Times of India, she revealed that “It happened with me when I had gone for a meeting, but just once. My mother was accompanying me. I was told that I'll have to sleep with the hero. I politely turned down the offer and we left. I wouldn't say ki ye bahut hota hai or it's a normal thing. Industry badnaam hai lekin har industry mein ye cheez hoti hai.”

Aradhana Sharma

Aradhna Sharma has been a part of popular shows like Taarak Mehta Ka Oolta Chashma and Splitsvilla. In a conversation with Times of India, she opens up about a horrific situation and said, “It happened 4-5 years back. I was studying in Pune then. It happened in my hometown Ranchi. There was a person, who was doing casting in Mumbai. I was doing modelling assignments in Pune and hence was a bit known. I went to Ranchi as he said he is casting for some role. We were doing script reading in a room and he was trying to touch me. I couldn’t figure out what was happening. I just remember pushing him, opening the door and run away. I couldn’t share this to anyway for a few days. It was a love scene reading script. It was very bad. I had forgotten about it until now.”