A 'casting couch' in Bollywood? 02nd Aug 2004
11.11 IST
By ApunKaChoice Bureau
It is a perfect picture for a Bollywood masala film. A well-known director being accused of molestation by a young model, trying to make it big in the film industry.
Noted film director Madhur Bhandarkar of Chandni Bar fame got into trouble when a model and aspiring starlet accused him of rape and threatening her.
Though in the world of glamour there is no shortage of such 'stories', this incident has rocked the film industry.
Filmmaker Kiran Shantaram says, "Such kind of allegations have always been there but this is perhaps for the first time that allegations have been made publicly. Such controversy is bad for both filmmakers and newcomers.
Because of this incident, now film-makers would think twice of taking newcomers, and the latter would be wary of approaching film-makers fearing the worst." Shantaram says, "however, it is wrong to confine these charges to only the film industry, it happens in every industry. The allegations in the film industry get more publicity." "I think the associations of film-makers should take up the issue to put in place a system that would work as a safeguard against such happenings."