Swara Bhasker To Kalki: Actors Who Spoke Up About Bollywood Being Unsafe

In the wake of the #MeToo movement in 2017, hundreds and thousands of women all across the globe came out in the open discussing any and all sorts of sexual harassment or misconduct they faced at their workplace at any point in life. Though the movement began in 2006, it gained major momentum through social media in 2017 with the sexual harassment case against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. The 70-year-old filmmaker was accused of rape and sexual misconduct by over 80 women and is currently serving lifetime imprisonment in New York.

Following this several women spoke about feeling unsafe in Bollywood as well, especially on the casting couch, while auditioning, and at other times. One of the well-known personalities in Bollywood accused of sexual misconduct by multiple actors is filmmaker Sajid Khan. However, not everyone is vocal about the same.

Here are a few actors who were vocal about Bollywood being unsafe.

Nargis Fakhri

The American actor and model Nargis Fakhri, who was born to a Pakistani father and a Czech mother, made her Bollywood debut with the 2011 Ranbir Kapoor starrer Rockstar. In an interview with a leading publication, the actor said that she had faced many obstacles and there were times when she encountered people who behaved in unprofessional ways. “That made it difficult to feel safe at times,” she said.

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Swara Bhaskar

From the 2020 violence at the Jawaharlal Nehru University to the anti-CAA protests to religious conflicts in the country, Swara Bhasker has always been vocal about all kinds of societal issues. And when it comes to her workplace, the Hindi film industry, she doesn't shy away ‘from addressing the problems prevalent either. In a panel discussion on Harvey Weinstein, the actor opened up about being sexually harassed by a director but realising it only after six to eight years that it was a “predatory” behaviour.

“It took me six to eight years to realise when I heard someone else talk about their experience of harassment at a panel discussion like this. I was like God, what happened to me three years ago was actually sexual harassment at workplace! I never realised it because like you said, I escaped. Because the person did not touch me and I managed to ward it off. I would just tell myself that this director is being whatever, but that is not the full truth. The director was not being an idiot or an ass, he was being a predator,” she said.

Kalki Koechlin

In the wake of the #MeToo movement, back in 2018, BBC made a documentary titled ‘Fighting sexual harassment in Bollywood’ where they asked Kalki Koechlin “why women in Bollywood are not speaking about sexual harassment”. In the video, Kalki spoke about how the industry people don’t pay heed to the struggling newcomers in the industry and hence a lot of women avoid speaking on the topic as their careers are at stake. “People don’t listen to you if you’re a nobody. If you’re a celebrity and you talk about it, it only becomes a shocking headline,” she said.

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Richa Chaddha

Richa Chadha is another actor from the industry who has been vocal about issues both inside and outside the Bollywood industry fearlessly. In an interview with Pinkvilla,Richa spoke about facing sexism and the casting couch in the industry. She mentioned an incident where she was ‘suggestively’ asked out for dinner and how it was insisted upon despite rejecting the proposal many times.