From Swara Bhasker being GROPED to 6 YO Shrenu's bus incident: Actors who opened up on being sexually harassed

Swara Bhaskar:

Swara Bhaskar has been one of the more vocal figures when it comes to speaking about abuse and misconduct. During a promotional event for Prem Ratan Dhan Payo in Rajkot, she revealed being groped in a massive crowd, calling the experience both shocking and violating. She has also described a disturbing encounter on a train: a man entered her empty first-class compartment and began masturbating. “I was alone and I hit him with my umbrella. I kept hitting him and screaming,” she said, describing her reaction.

In another case, a film director tried to cross professional boundaries by showing up at her hotel room drunk under the pretext of discussing a scene. “He arrived in my room drunk and asked to be hugged,” she shared.

Chahatt Khanna:

Television actress Chahatt Khanna recalled being sexually abused during her childhood by an elderly neighbor. At the time, she didn’t understand the gravity of what was happening. “He was like a grandfather figure and what he did felt affectionate then. But I was wrong,” she later said, adding that she fully grasped the reality only years later when another girl accused the same man of abuse.

Shrenu Parikh:

Actress Shrenu Parikh opened up about being molested when she was just six years old. The incident took place in a moving bus, where she had been seated on a relative’s lap.

“I remember I was on his lap, and when I woke up, I had this strange feeling that someone was touching me where they shouldn't,” she recalled, adding that the incident stayed with her in silence for years before she could process it.

Anita Hassanandani:

Actress Anita Hassanandani has shared multiple instances of harassment she faced in her younger years. One incident involved a rickshaw puller who exposed himself to her and her friends while they were returning from school.

She also remembered being touched inappropriately by a tailor during a fitting. “We don’t understand these things as kids, but the trauma lives on,” she remarked, explaining how such experiences shape fear and mistrust over time.

Mona Vasu:

Mona Wasu took swift action after she was molested on a ferry in Mumbai’s Versova area. A man groped her while she was trying to board. She chased him, reported him to the authorities, and pressed charges.

“I chased him down, confronted him, and filed a police complaint,” she told reporters. The accused was arrested, though Mona later said it took her over two hours to get the complaint formally registered.

Uorfi Javed:

Urfi Javed, known for her bold personality online, has also been candid about facing exploitation in the industry. She spoke about being pressured during an audition held at a director’s home, where she was asked to perform inappropriate scenes.

“There were no cameras, no assistants. I was asked to come close, touch him like he was my lover. That’s when I knew something was wrong,” she said. In another interview, she claimed: “Yes, I was forced into the casting couch. And big names were involved.”

These voices; raw, unfiltered and courageous, cut through the long standing silence that has allowed misconduct to thrive in the shadows of the entertainment industry. By naming their experiences, these actors are not only reclaiming their own narratives but also holding a mirror to the structures that failed them. Their testimonies serve as both warnings and rallying cries, reminders that change begins when silence ends, and that no industry, however glamorous, should be exempt from accountability and reform.