TV actress Shilpa Shinde claims she was asked to “seduce a Bollywood filmmaker” early in her career

It’s never easy to make it in the films, especially if you are an outsider. Indian TV actress Shilpa Shinde who is best known for her funny role in serial Bhabhi Ji Ghar Par Hain! and then winner of Bigg Boss 11, recently opened up about one horrific episode of her life.

At the start of her career, she said, she was asked to wear something and perform some intimate scenes while the filmmaker acted as a boss. She recalled the incident in an interview with News18 and said that she was very “innocent” at the time and hence agreed to do the scene.

Shilpa Shinde was sexually assaulted at the start of her career

She recalled, “It was during my struggling days, around 1998-99. I cannot take names, but they told me, ‘Aap yeh kapde pehno aur yeh scene karo (wear these clothes and do this scene)'. I didn’t wear those clothes. In the scene, he told me he was my boss, and I had to seduce him. I was very innocent then, so I did the scene. That person tried to force himself on me, and I got so scared. I pushed him away and ran out.” The security staff escorted her outside as they feared that she would make a scene of it.

Shilpa has since then met him several times. She said, “He was from the Hindi film industry. I agreed to do the scene because he was also an actor.”

She said, “ He didn’t recognise me and even offered me a film role. I refused. He still doesn’t remember me.”

Sexual assaults are common in the entertainment industry

Shilpa added that it is not a one-off case and similar incidents have happened with others in the industry. She said while “some have run away” like she did, others have told her “they’ve faced similar situations, even with well-known figures”.

Meanwhile, the Telugu industry has been rocked with sexual assault claims. Telugu actor Nani expressed concern over the findings of the recently-released Hema Committee report that detailed the rampant sexual abuse and deplorable working conditions faced by women in the Malayalam film industry.