Aditi Rao Hydari on casting couch: Work can’t be bartered for favours; either you have talent or you don’t

Actor Aditi Rao Hydari says we need to be fearless and speak up against any kind of injustice without thinking what people around us might think.

As report after report comes out on women and children being raped — and, in some cases, murdered — around the country, celebrities are adding their voice to the collective anger, and taking part in marches.

Actor Aditi Rao Hydari was last seen in Sudhir Mishra’s Daas Dev. (Yogen Shah)

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We ask Aditi Rao Hydari, who played a rape victim in Bhoomi (2017) and took part in protest marches in Mumbai, about how it felt to be in the shoes of a survivor, even if only on-screen. She says, “I felt humiliated and tortured. I was acting, but still I felt terrible and suffocated. And I kept thinking, ‘This is what many go through in reality.’” As for what should change in society, she says, “There are a few set norms being followed against women that need to be changed. Children learn by example how the father treats the mother, or whether the men in the family treat the women with respect and vice versa. A real sense of education, respecting equality, dignity is important.”

Talking about the recent incidents in Kathua, Unnao, and other places, Aditi asks, “Are people turning into beasts? The wrong-doers should be punished to set an example for others.”

The actor also talks about the casting couch, saying, “This is misuse of power and it’s everywhere. Work can’t be bartered for favours; either you have talent or you don’t. If at all there is any kind of closeness between two people, then it should be consensual. I also believe somewhere that we girls need to say ‘no’. I know at times it’s hard, given that means losing out on opportunities, but at the end of the day, it’s empowering.”

Author tweets @Shreya_MJ

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