Raima Sen on casting couch: You can’t sleep with a director and get a film; it doesn’t work like that

Actor Raima Sen, who was last seen in Vodka Diaries, says talentless people ‘resort to these measures’.

In the wake of the sexual exploitation scandals that shook Hollywood, the #MeToo movement, and even some Indian celebs sharing similar experiences in Bollywood, actor Raima Sen feels lucky that she didn’t have to face such harassment.

Actor Raima Sen’s Hindi film Vodka Diaries released in January, this year.

However, the actor, who is a renowned name in the Bengali film industry and has featured in Hindi films such as Parineeta (2005), Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. (2007), and Bollywood Diaries (2016), among others, says that the individual falling for such traps is to be blamed more than anyone else.

“You see, these things depend on an individual. One should realise and accept the fact that there is no short cut to success. If you think that you can sleep with a director and get a film, well, it doesn’t ever work like that,” says Raima, adding that talent is the key.

“If you have talent and you have a backup plan, it’s great. But, if you don’t have talent and you just resort to these measures, then obviously you don’t have any faith in yourself,” she maintains.

Raima belongs to the third generation of a family of actors — her mother Moon Moon Sen and grandmother Suchitra Sen, both were actors. According to her, mostly young actors, especially those not hailing from film families, fall for such gimmicks. “Maybe these newcomers don’t know how things work. They need to know the system. Maybe they think that’s what they are supposed to do, but getting sexually exploited is not the way and it has never been the way,” says Raima.

Does she feel her family status guarded her? “Yeah, it has definitely saved me and my sister [actor Riya Sen]. But casting couch exists everywhere, not just in the film industry. I have never fallen into such a trap, thankfully,” she says.

Interact with Monika Rawal Kukreja at Twitter/@monikarawal