Be it Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, or Kannada films all have been carving their niche in the entertainment industry. South actors and actresses are not just popular within the walls of India but also across the globe. According to the Confederation of Indian Industry, 62 percent of the overall box office collections in 2021 came from South Indian films. The dubbed versions of these movies have won the hearts of several national and international fans. The actresses of down south have also been receiving the recognition that they always deserved. However, everything has a dark side embedded in it and so did the industries of the South.
The casting couch act was not an unfamiliar thing for the patriarchs of the South cinema industry. Plenty of South Indian actresses faced these horrifying experiences during the early stages of their careers. Several of those actresses have come forward to share their experiences.
1. Aishwarya Rajesh
Aishwarya Rajesh is well-known for her works primarily in Tamil films, alongside Telugu and Malayalam films. However, she is most popular for her works in Tamil ones. She made her debut back in 2011, the time when casting couch was considered to be the norm. The actress shares how these people used to hide the offers of the casting couch with words such as adjustment, contract, agreement, etc. In an interview, she also mentioned how Earlier, it was too much to get into a film, people would say,
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“Just go for half an hour and come”.
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2. Parvathy Thiruvothu
Predominantly appearing in Malayalam and Tamil language films, actress Parvathy also shares her experience of casting couch. She shared how she aced the casting couch only in the Malayalam film industry. Back in 2017, she said in an interview,
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“I don’t understand why it’s a surprise at all. It’s a reality, why are we even shocked about it?”
The normalization of the casting couch in itself is so pathetic. She shared how they would say
“they gave her a break”
to which she used to reply
“What break, dude? I already did my job and I don’t think I have to do anything more”.
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3. Varalaxmi Sarathkumar
Apart from being a successful actress herself, Varalaxmi is also the daughter of south sensation R. Sarathkumar. Regardless of this, she has suffered the ugly casting couch experiences. As per the actress, she has been asked to give in to the wishes of some producers and directors on several occasions in the past, but she refused to do so. She believed in paving her career via her talent rather than stooping so low.
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4. Anushka Shetty
Bahubali fame Anushka Shetty is one of the most loved actresses from down South. To say that she has become a household name would not be so wrong. She also opened up and shared how she has not faced it yet but the casting couch does exist in the Telugu industry.
5. Sri Reddy
Actress Sri Reddy is famous for her works in Telugu films as well as the television industry. There was a time when she sent the entire Telugu industry into a frenzy as she slammed several prominent names for casting couch. She also shared that to rise in her career she had to accept a few offers.
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6. Sruthi Hariharan
Sruthi Hariharan opened up about a particularly terrifying casting couch experience. She shared how one leading Tamil producer bought the rights to her Kannada film and wanted to cast her in the remake only if she adjust to the needs of the five producers of the film. She vehemently resisted it after which she never received offers from any Tamil films.
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7. Nayanthara
Nayanthara also confessed she went through a casting couch experience as she was offered an important role in a film but was asked for a few ‘favors’ in exchange. It is safe to say that this talented actress boldly refused these practices.
These are the top South Indian actresses who faced casting couch experiences. What are your views on it? What should be done in order to eradicate this practice altogether? Do tell us via the comments below.
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