For the past few days, Ankita Lokhande has been hitting the headlines for many reasons. Yesterday, we told you how Ankita rejected Happy New Year, Bajirao Mastani, and other big Bollywood movies for Sushant Singh Rajput. Now, Ankita has made another shocking revelation as she talked about facing the casting couch in the industry. In a recent interview, Ankita spoke about being subject to the horrors of the casting couch twice, once when she was just starting out and again when she was a successful television star looking to transition to films.
Speaking to Bollywood Bubble, Ankita Lokhande opened up about facing the casting couch while she was trying to make her entry into movies. “I feel I am a very strong personality. I don’t let anybody look at me also like that. I’m like ‘Don’t you dare to do that.’ Yes, I have faced it once, no, I think I have faced it twice. Bohot pehle jab me choti thi, mujhe South film k liye bulaya gaya tha. He called me into his room and said, ‘Ankita we want to ask you something.’ I was like, ‘Yes.’ He then said, ‘Aapko compromise karna padega.’ I was so smart, I was alone in that room and was 19 or 20 years old, asked him, ‘Which type of compromise does your producer want? Do I have to go to parties or dinners?”, she said.
Ankita then revealed that she was asked to sleep with the producer. “And the moment he said it, maine uski band baja di thi. I told him, I think your producer wants a girl to sleep with, not a very talented girl to work with.’ And I left from there. He then apologised and said he will try to take me to his film. But I said, ‘If you try and take me in also, I’m not interested in your film,” she added.
The second incident took place when she was already a popular face on the small screen. “When I got back again into films, I felt it again, just shaking hands with that person. I don’t want to take names, he was a big actor. I got those vibes, and I quickly got my hands away from him. I knew it, ab mera yahaan nahi hoga (it will not work out for me), because it is a give and take thing. I understood and I left from there because it was not for me,” she said.