Rockstar, Highway & Chamkila director Imtiaz Ali breaks silence on casting couch in Bollywood: 'A girl comes in, she's scared, and she...'

Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali known for making films like Jab We Met, Love Aaj Kal, Rockstar, Highway, Tamasha, Netflix’s Chamkila and others, recently spoke about the casting couch in Bollywood.

The director shared that the perception that compromising will lead the way to success in showbiz is a myth.

“I have been a director in the Hindi film industry for 15-20 years. I have heard a lot about the casting couch. A girl comes in, she’s scared, and she feels the need to compromise. Let me tell you, if a woman or girl cannot say ’no,’ her chances of succeeding don’t necessarily increase. It’s not like if a girl compromises, she’ll definitely get a role,” said Imitiaz as he discussed about the issue of casting couch in IFFI Goa.

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Stressing on importance of self-respect, he shared, “If a girl can say ’no’ and respects herself, only then will others respect her too. People like me and many others often think about whether we take someone seriously or not; we need to respect a person to cast her".

The filmmaker concluded by urging the audience to understand that “this belief that compromising will improve your chances in the film industry is a myth.”

Imtiaz Ali last directed Netflix’s _Chamkila_ , which was based on the real-life story of the Punjabi singer Amar Singh Chamkila and his wife Amarjot, who were assassinated at a young age. It was bankrolled by Mohit Choudhary, Select Media Holdings LLP, Saregama, and Window Seat Films. It released on 12th April.