Sri Reddy Publicly Strips To Protest Against Casting Couch - South Actresses Who Have Confessed To Being Victims Of This

Sri Reddy shocked people and broke the internet when she decided to strip publicly to protest against casting couch in Tollywood. The TV presenter turned actress has always been vocal about the casting couch issues in the south film industry and decided to take one step further when no one came up with a solution for her. She striped publicly outside the Movie Artistes’ Association (MAA) headquarters ‘Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce’ in Film Nagar to ensure that she is being heard.

The actress told an entertainment portal, "This is the only way I can get them to listen to me. I have had to strip myself nude in front of several people in the film industry who promised work. Yet, I got no roles. I have been shouting from the rooftops about the injustice that has been meted out to me and to several other women in the film industry and yet, I have not got any response from MAA. So I have decided to strip publicly." It's rather sad that she had to stoop down to this level for people to take her seriously. But she is not the only one to have voiced her concerns about the issue in the industry. (ALSO READ: Telugu Star Sri Reddy Strips in Public to Protest Over Lack of Employment)

A lot of actresses have opened up about facing similar issues in the industry.

Take Off actress Parvathy also revealed that she was asked to return favours to land good roles in films:

The actress revealed in a recent interview, "There are people in the industry who ask women to sleep with them in order to get a role. I have been asked. They ask very blatantly as if it is their right. I have said NO. After a point, when you have made a mark in the industry, they won’t ask you." She even lost out on a couple of films because she said no.

Kasthuri, without taking any names, confessed that a successful actor harassed her throughout the film:

Sharing her experience with the media, the actress said, "Many times, I was thrown out of films, for not giving the favors in return. The one person who is a popular actor and politician now with whom this all happened, harassed me throughout the film, that I acted with him. Though I respect him in many ways, because of ego I think, he did all that to me." She also added that it was one of the main reasons for her to quit acting.

Popular actress Varalakshmi Sarath Kumar tweeted her story about facing casting couch last year:

This is what she tweeted:

Though a lot of women don't choose to speak up about it, casting couch is something that still exists in the world of cinema that makes money of female-oriented films. Let's hope that Sri's protest carves way for other budding actresses or the existing ones to openly either speak up about it or prevent it from happening. A lot of South actresses like Rakul Preet and Kajal Aggrawal have confessed that sadly casting couch exists in the industry, though they have never been approached. What do you think? Tell us in the comments below and stay tuned with us for more.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 08, 2018 12:28 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).