Isha Koppikar Shares Casting Couch Experience, Says A-list Bollywood Actor Wanted To Meet Her Alone

Isha Koppikar ruled Bollywood in the 90s and 2000s by giving memorable performances in movies such as LOC Kargil, Pinjat, Krishna Cottage and Don. However, after the 2011 movie Shabri, she stayed away from the Hindi film industry only to return in 2022 with the movie Love You Loktantra. Her journey up to the top was not easy and she had her share of casting couch experiences during her early days in the industry.

Isha Koppikar breaks the silence on the casting couch experience at 18

In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, Isha recalled her casting couch experience. She got teary-eyed while discussing and said that it was “never about what you can do,” adding to it she said that heroes used to decide female actors’ future. “You have heard about #MeToo, and if you had values, it was very difficult,” continued. She further claimed that many actresses left the industry during her time. “Either the girls gave in or they gave up. There are very few who are still in the industry and haven’t given up, and I am one of them,” she added.

Recalling the experience, the 36 China Town actress said that she was 18 when a secretary and an actor approached me for a casting couch. They told her that to get work, she would have to be “friendly” with actors. “I am very friendly, but what does ‘friendly’ mean? I am so friendly that Ekta Kapoor once told me to have some attitude,” she recalled.

Another incident happened when she was 23-year-old and this time it happened with an A-list actor from Bollywood. She recalled the actor asked her to him alone, without my driver or anyone else because there were rumours about him being involved with other actresses. He told her, “There are already controversies about me, and the staff spreads rumours.” However, Isha refused and told him that she couldn’t come alone.

Heroes ke sath bahut dosti karni padegi: Isha Koppikar

In the same segment, she recalled another bad experience when often secretaries of actors and directors would touch her “inappropriately” and would “squeeze” her arm and say, “Heroes ke sath bahut dosti karni padegi (You will have to be very friendly with the actors),’ in a sleazy way.”