Time's Not Up in the Hindi Film Industry
The discussion around sexual harassment and exploitation at the workplace has gotten louder on local shores too.
I've heard the professional conduct of at least two popular casting directors being seriously discussed at recent gatherings. Two former assistants of one influential casting head revealed that their jobs involved "cleaning up after their boss had "had her way with some young hopeful. They described the said big shot's appetite for strapping young fellas as an "open secret. The same person was known to make young girls who came to her for acting opportunities especially insecure about their bodies, routinely recommending cosmetic surgery and "boob jobs to correct their shortcomings'.
The second casting director, I was informed, had a habit of sending messages to young women he was professionally mentoring,asking them to come for "meetings late at night. He was infamous among cinema strugglers for showering extra attention on women who were "pliable.
From what one has been given to understand, these examples are a drop in the ocean when it comes to exploitation in tinsel town. The fear of taking names remains one of the reasons that culprits aren't taken to task. But in a landscape where men openly accused of crossing the line continue to go about their lives without fear of consequence, it's hard to say when time's up' will be called for sexual misconduct in Bollywood.
Anupamaa
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