Actor-politician Ravi Kishan is known for his roles in Bhojpuri as well as Hindi cinema. The MP from Gorakhpur has played a range of characters in films as well as television shows. Ravi Kishan, who is known for his candid candour, was recently asked about the casting couch evil in the entertainment industry. The actor's answer has come as a shock to several fans as Ravi Kishan shared that he had barely managed to get out of an incident of casting couch. On the show Aap Ki Adalat, Ravi Kishan recounted the harrowing incident. He said on the show, “Yeah, it happened and this is something that happens in the industry. But I somehow managed to escape. My father had taught me that I should approach my work with honesty, I never wanted to take a shortcut. I knew I was talented.”
When asked to name the perpetrator, Ravi Kishan refused to do so. He said, “I can't name her, because she has become a big shot now,” adding, “She had said, ‘Coffee peene raat me aayie (Come over for a cup of coffee tonight)'. I thought that is something people prefer to have during the day. So I got the hint and refused."
Sharing images from the sets of Aap Ki Adalat, Ravi Kishan said, “Had amazing experience shooting with Rajat Sharma ji, a platform where legendary face the googlies by one of the most learned journos accompanied with a top-notch jury. Truly Excited about the episode while defending and justifying bouncy questions solo in the witness box."
Ravi Kishan is not the only actor to shed light on the issue of casting couch in the film industry. Not very long ago, actor Ranveer Singh in an interaction with the international magazine Deadline shared his ordeal. He said, “This guy calls me to this seedy place and is like, 'Are you a hard worker, or a smart worker?'. I didn't consider myself to be smart, so I said: 'I think I'm a hard worker.' He was like, 'Darling, be smart, be sexy'. I had all those kinds of experiences during those three-and-a-half years, and I think it was that period that makes me value the opportunities I have now.”
Actress Esha Gupta too shared that she had witnessed a “dark side” of the film industry. Speaking about her casting couch experience, she said, “Two people, they've done that to me. One of them, well I did the film still. Because it was a little sly move. I think they also expected an outdoor shoot, we'll just be really nice to her, things may change then. But I am also really smart. I said I am not going to sleep alone."
Speaking about how she dealt with it, Esha Gupta added: "I used to make my makeup artist sleep in the room with me. I said 'Oh I am scared, I won't sleep'. But, it's not the ghosts that you are scared of, it's the person. Because you never know when they...You also don't want to be disrespectful. But the problem is also they only do it to us, they won't do it to the industry kids because there their parents will come and kill you. But to us, they think she wants work. So eventually I saw a very dirty side of the person I worked with because they became very vindictive when they realised that 'shit she is not going to do anything'. Because that is the only film where my mother also went with me.” She also added that following her refusal of sexual advances, the filmmaker "got very vindictive, very negative” with her. Read Esha's complete story here.
Meanwhile, Ravi Kishan is best known for his work in films such as Tere Naam, Phir Hera Pheri, Tanu Weds Manu, and so on. He last appeared in the web series Khakee: The Bihar Chapter.