Over the past few months, many actors have come forward and spoken up about the dark side of Bollywood. Abhay Deol talked about boycotting award shows after ZNMD and Kunal Kemmu talked about the lack of an even playing field for outsiders. Now actress Sameera Reddy has opened up about her own experiences in the industry.
Hindustan Times quoted her saying, “I was doing this film and suddenly I was told that there will be a kissing scene added to the film. It wasn’t there before so I wasn’t okay with it. The makers tried to reason with me saying, ‘You did it in Musafir,’ and I was like but that doesn’t mean I’ll keep on doing it. He had then told me that please handle this with care but remember you are replaceable.”
She further added, “The whole game is like snakes and ladders. So you need to know how to move around the snakes and make your way. I would never party or hang out with the actors post my shoot. I would head back home and rather watch TV. I never really socialized and I know that helps a lot in getting films. But it’s fine. It’s the nature of the business.”
Isha Koppikar also recalled getting replaced in projects at the eleventh hour without any explanation.
Hindustan Times quoted her saying, “A lot of times, I was about to get a role, but then somebody called. The father or mother would call and the starlet would get it. If somebody is with someone and the heroine is his muse or girlfriend, then she would get the role. All this has happened to me. I was about to go for the mahurat and it happened. I will not talk about the star. He is a superstar today.”
We hope this discourse brings about some meaningful change in Bollywood.