Radhika Apte recalls her first experience with the infamous casting couch

Following actress Surveen Chawla’s confession about being asked sexual favours from a director, her ‘Parched’ co-star Radhika Apte also came out and spoke about her first experience with the infamous casting couch.

In an interview to Bollywoodlife.com, the ‘Welcome to Badlapur’ actress opened up about the first time she was asked for a sexual favor by someone from the industry.

During the interview, when asked if she had ever been approached by someone, Apte said, “You know I know also a lot of casting couch and I know a lot of people who have gone through it, I genuinely haven’t gone through it. See, I’m fortunate that I’ve never met people who have asked me to. I think once an actor in South called me on my room phone and tried to get flirtatious and I just was so rude to him. I think he fought with me later on. But anyway, I haven’t ever got a request saying that you have to sleep with us.”

However, before moving on to the next question, the actress managed to recall one particular experience.

“Oh once I got a call. Yes yes wait. Once I got a call and they said ‘they’re doing this film in Bollywood and I want you to have a meeting with them. But would you be okay sleeping with that person?’ And I laughed! I said you’re so funny, you’re very funny and I said no I’m not. Ask him to go to hell (laughs),” she said.

Needless to say, it’s commendable how the actress handled herself in the situation and refused to bow down to those who think an actress can’t make it on her own.

Apte will be seen next in the Ajay Devgn’s upcoming co-production ‘Parched’, which is set to release on September 23.

Helmed by Leena Yadav, ‘Parched’ stars Radhika Apte, Tannishtha Chatterjee, and Lehar Khan in lead roles. It premiered at the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.

The film revolves around four women living an unwanted life in a village of north-western region of India, which still suffers from old, age-ridiculed traditions like forced child marriages and other social issues like financial difficulties, spousal and familial rape, and physically and emotionally abusive alcoholic husbands.