'Felt disgust...': Kalki Koechlin recalls harassment experiences in industry
What's the story
Bollywood actor Kalki Koechlin recently opened up about her experiences with casual sexual harassment in the film industry. Speaking to Zoom, she recalled two uncomfortable situations, one of which happened at the Cannes Film Festival when she was still a student. "I've had two uncomfortable situations. One was in Cannes... I had gone to Cannes to sell Nokia phones, a promo girl," she said.
Uncomfortable encounter
Encounter at Cannes with an Indian producer
Koechlin recalled meeting an Indian producer at Cannes who was connected to her mother. "I met him and went to see his screening in Cannes, and then he asked me out for dinner," she said. "I asked him for any leads about work, but he made it very clear that I had to 'be with him' in order for that to happen."
Second incident
Similar situation during an audition in Mumbai
Koechlin also shared another incident where a producer asked her out for dinner during an audition. "Other time it happened when I went for an audition here for a film, and the producer said, 'You want to do this film? That's great, but I need to get to know you because it's a big launch,'" she recalled. "So it was basically the same, like, 'Come out, let's go out for dinner,' So then again I was like sorry."
Anger
'Have a raging fury...'
The actor added, "I have a raging fury inside me. I want to punch that person in the face but like any other woman, I tell myself to keep it in and just get out of the situation, cause it is also out of safety and other reasons." "It's kind of like a disgust kind of experience."
New role
Meanwhile, on the work front
Despite these experiences, Koechlin continues to thrive in her career. She was recently appointed as the brand ambassador for filmmaker Karan Johar's jewelry brand Tyaani. She joins a stellar roster of ambassadors including Shefali Shah, Tilottama Shome, Rasika Dugal, Jiya Shankar, and Shweta Tripathi. Her recent projects include Nesippaya and Kho Gaye Hum Kahan.