'Be With Me for Work’: Kalki Koechlin Reveals Dark Side of Film Industry

Entrtainment News: Actor Kalki Koechlin has spoken up about her personal experiences with the casting couch, focusing attention on the subtle and sometimes evident forms of sexual harassment that still exist in the film industry. In an interview with media, Kalki explained how these instances, which are frequently disregarded or normalised, can have long-term psychological consequences. In the interview, Kalki described one such occurrence that took place while she was still a student in London and had been to Cannes as a Nokia phone promotional model.

Kalki recalls the incident

“One was in Cannes. I wasn’t even an actor yet, just a student working as a promo girl selling Nokia phones. An Indian producer, who knew someone connected to my mother, invited me to his film screening. Later, he asked me out to dinner. When I enquired about work opportunities, he made it very clear that I had to ‘be with him’ for that to happen,” said Kalki.

Another similarly disturbing experience

Kalki also shared a second uncomfortable experience in Mumbai after joining the film industry. During an audition for a major picture, a producer expressed his desire to 'get to know her better'. “Other times it happened when I went for an audition here for a film, and the producer said, 'You want to do this film? That's great, but I need to get to know you because it's a big launch. So it was basically the same, like, 'Come out, let's go out for dinner.' So then again I was like, Sorry, I don't want to waste your time or mine," Kalki recalled.

Kalki's latest projects

Kalki Koechlin was last seen in the Tamil romantic action thriller Nesippaya, directed by Vishnuvardhan. It marked Akash Murali's debut, with Aditi Shankar and others. She will next appear in the English-language film Emma and Angel, which will be an interesting addition to her career.