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Richa Chadha on beneficiaries of casting couch favouring the #MeToo campaign

Richa Chadha who hasn’t shied away from talking about casting couch in Bollywood, has said she is amazed at how those who knowingly benefited from the practice are now against sexual harassment, following the explosive #MeToo campaign.

Reported on the Indian Express, Chadha shares her views in an interview saying, “Now I see a lot of beneficiaries of casting couch talking about it. They go like, ‘Oh! It’s so wrong!’ I scoff.”

The #MeToo campaign kicked off following the multiple allegations that surfaced from the Harvey Weistein case. It sparked a huge movement across the globe, but didn’t quite hit it off in Bollywood, which the ‘Masaan’ (2015) actress blames it on the lack of infrastructure in Bollywood to protect its women. “Indian actors don’t have a strong union. They don’t have a legal help. If some woman gets up one day and says a name, I can write it down on a paper and sign it that no one will hire her again. For your scoop, she will give out a name and then who will support her? Who is going to take care of her family? No one’s going to do it till you put that cushioning, safety net. Even if there is a working actor (who speaks about it), they will be people who get royalty for the stuff that they have done, assuming they will not get hired again.”

The ‘Love Sonia’ (2018) actress also explains that no-one realises the opportunity cost for a woman, if she did speak up. “I have written about the opportunity cost of sexism. It takes six Oscar winners to tell the world that this guy (Weinstein) is a douche. Didn’t we know that already? As a journalist, you also know who these dirty scumbags are.”

With this in mind and speaking for herself, Chadha has made it clear that she won’t work with certain male filmmakers in the industry, who are known predators. “I don’t work with those people. I just feel I could not (compromise). I just can’t. What will I lose? Money? Doesn’t matter.”