Popular actress Renuka Shahane, known for her roles in films like Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Dusari Goshta, Highway, and Tribhanga, recently opened up about casting couch experience during her early days in the industry. The actor asserted that actors like Raveena Tandon also took precautions to steer herself away from unwanted advances by people in the industry.
Recalling her unpleasant experience with a film producer, Renuka Shahane told Zoom, "A producer came to my home and made a proposition. He told me that he is married, but he asked me to become the brand ambassador of a saree company and told me that he will give me a stipend every month for living together with him. My mom and I were aghast."
When Renuka refused the offer, the film producer moved on to someone else. Renuka said resisting such behavior came with a price. Speaking about the nature of the industry, Renuka recalled how powerful people threatened those who resisted their misconduct.
"Sometimes, when you refuse advances of someone, they come to take revenge and ask others not to take you. That is the danger. It hasn't happened to me, but it can happen," Renuka said, adding that people were removed from projects, harassed further, or sometimes even denied payment for their work. "It's a club which comes together and tries to victimise the victim more," she said.
The Circus actress said that the #MeToo movement had waned over time, paving the way for the once-accused to return to work. "The problem is that after the MeToo movement, the accused, after 5-6 years, are doing very good work after forgetting everything. And if you accuse someone and there is no back-up like a police case then people will confront you for not proving the allegation," she said.
Citing the example of Raveena Tandon, Renuka said even A-listers were not exceptions to the rule. "Raveena was a big heroine and she came from the industry, but she had told me that during outdoor shoots, we would change rooms every day so that nobody should know which room we are staying. So they don't come and create problem," Renuka recalled.
In recent times, Renuka Shahane was seen in the web series Dupahiya.