Saiyami Kher recalls female casting agent asking her to ‘compromise’ for role in Telugu film at 19

Saiyami Kher recalled how she dealt with casting couch call for a Telugu film when she was just 19 years old.

Several Bollywood actors have spoken out about facing the casting couch in the film industry. In a recent interview with Bollywood Bubble, actor Saiyami Kher, best known for her performances in Ghoomer and Choked, opened up about a casting director once asking her to “compromise” for a role in a Telugu film. (Also Read: Saiyami Kher: I have worked with biggest directors trying to do something different, I don't want to run behind success)

Saiyami Kher talked about a woman asking her to compromise for a role at 19.

Saiyami Kher on her casting couch experience

Saiyami recalled experiencing the casting couch when she was just 19 years old and said, “I have been very fortunate with regards to all the offers I have received. In the film industry, there was this one agent who called me for a Telugu film when I was 19 or 20 years old. She said, ‘You know, you will have to make compromises.’ I was trying to test her, because it was a woman saying it to another woman. I felt that deeply.”

She added, “So I said, ‘Ma’am, I’m not understanding what you are saying.’ I kept repeating that. And then finally she said, ‘See, you have to understand.’ So I said, ‘I’m sorry that you feel I’m someone who needs to go down this route. There are certain limits I have never crossed in my life.’ So yes, I have experienced it once, but it was just that one time when a woman actually asked me this.”

About Saiyami Kher

Saiyami made her Bollywood debut in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's directorial Mirzya. The film also marked the debut of Anil Kapoor’s son, Harshvardhan Kapoor. However, it opened to mixed reviews and was a commercial failure at the box office.

Over the years, Saiyami has appeared in films such as Anurag Kashyap’s Choked, Unpaused, and Telugu projects like Nagarjuna’s Wild Dog and Highway. She recently earned praise for her performance in R Balki’s sports drama Ghoomer, which also starred Abhishek Bachchan in the lead role. She was last seen in a supporting role in Sunny Deol and Randeep Hooda’s Jaat. Directed by Gopichand Malineni, the film earned ₹118.36 crore worldwide at the box office.