Swara Bhaskar on sexual harassment in Bollywood: Lose the part but don't get on the couch

Ever since the Harvey Weinstein was accused by nearly 60 women of sexual harassment and assault, Hollywood has been openly discussing the topic. Many of the other actors have been accused of sexual misconduct including Kevin Spacey and Dustin Hoffman. Closer home, Swara Bhaskar has now joined in the discussion and expressed how both men and women are vulnerable to harassment at workplace in India.

In an interview with Mumbai Mirror, Swara Bhaskar recalled how a director had stalked her on a film set during her initial days in the film industry. "During a 56-day outdoor shoot at a remote location when I was still fairly new, the director harassed me with texts and dinner invites. He stalked me during the day and called me through the night. I was asked to go to his hotel room on the pretext of discussing a scene and would find him drinking. During the first week itself, he started talking about love and sex, and one night, he arrived in my room, drunk and asking to be hugged. It was scary!”

Things settled down for a bit when Swara threatened to leave the film set. But she got only a temporary respite as he went back to his ways. "I finally confided in the executive producer and made sure that I was escorted everywhere," said the actress.

According to Bhaskar, film sets often work in feudal, hierarchical ways making conditions on the sets ripe for sexual harassment. " Victims can be easily silenced,” she added.Women are often eve-teased on films sets and cat-calling is also prevalent. "There is lack of security for women on film sets."

According to Swara the best way to deal with such harassment is to "lose the part but don't get on the couch."Swara is currently shooting for Veere Di Wedding which also co-stars Sonam Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor.