Swara Bhaskar Quotes

Obviously, I did a couple of things right on the old casting couch.

There is casting couch in the Malayalam industry.

I came across awful characters when I got some kind of status and came to Hollywood. Then you have directors trying to sleep with you, assuming that you will do things because of the way you dress.

I haven't faced a casting couch in the South or Bollywood. But yes, I have faced my share of harassment in both industries. I don't have the guts to name them because they are powerful people - men and women who made sure I felt helpless.

For me, talking about the casting couch in the Malayalam film industry was like calling the sky blue. There is nothing new about calling a spade a spade. My intention was not to create an effect; I just wanted to pluck a few weeds in the system and throw them out.

It's very hard to not give in, to sell your soul: to flatter a more experienced male person of power, a producer or director, in order to get what you want. You feel a pressure to flutter your eyelashes and flirt because you know that will work, and I think it's admirable to not do that.

I faced a lot of backlash when I spoke about being sexually harassed by Dibakar Banerjee. Not directly, but indirectly, I was boycotted by the entire fraternity that supported the director, because it is a male-dominated set-up.

I don't know how much of the 'casting couch' exists in the industry, as I've not seen it myself. I'm glad that I've not had to.

Fortunately, I have never been a victim of sexual harassment. But there have been instances where I have lost out on work or people have shown disinterest in working with me because I was unwilling to succumb to this unspoken understanding of patriarchy.

I think all industries are sexist in nature and I don't think the film industry is any different.

Hollywood is the definition of sexual discrimination.

I can't even begin to tell you how many casting couches I was attacked on. Not just by casting people, but by stars.

Hollywood is a very strong machine that needs, and in... especially with female actors, fresh flesh. It's that cruel. But that's the way it is.

Although it shouldn't be, men behaving badly is sort of an occupational hazard for those working in Washington.

Tanushree Dutta became Miss India as she slept her way to the top.

There is nothing wrong with Radha Ravi calling women to his office. There's nothing wrong if a man calls women to his office. There is something wrong if a man calls men to his office.

Casting couch is not just a man's fault. It is important to say this because we blame the other side always.

Workplace harassment and gender discrimination exist in all spheres, not just films. I have been lucky enough not to face it, but I don't deny its existence.

I have had experiences where the director has asked me to meet for a drink or to come party with him or just to 'hang out.' I have lost some roles because I refused to go to Madh Island to hang out.

I am affirming that the casting couch for men exists in the modeling world

Is there discrimination against women? Yes, like the old boys' network. And sometimes discrimination against women becomes discrimination against men: in hazardous fields, women suffer fewer hazards.

I can honestly, and proudly, say that I never was on the casting couch. Oh, of course there have been advances from certain men in the movie industry, but nothing overwhelming.

I know, for me, that I have always been very conscious of how I dress when I go to the studio, I'm very conscious of my body language when I'm working - a lot of times, I'm the only female in the room. It's a very male-dominated profession. I'm always around guys. Guys are going to try you all day, and they're going to flirt all day.

The Screen Actors Guild numbers are frightening: Something like 90 percent of the roles are for men, 5 percent are for livestock and 5 percent are for women.

We often hear of a male director directing a great indie and immediately being offered the next huge comic book movie. Rarely, if ever, does this happen to a woman.