Prachi Desai came back with a bang in Manoj Bajpayee starrer Silence…can you hear it? recently. In an interview with an online portal, Prachi opened up on how none of the filmmakers had the ‘decency’ to inform her that she has been replaced as she had said no to doing raunchy dance numbers and steamy sex scenes. She also spoke about being propositioned and shared her casting couch experience.
Talking to the online portal, Prachi shared that she was asked for sexual favours in order to be cast in a ‘big film’ but she refused to give in. The actress added that the director called her, even after she turned down the offer, and she reiterated her stand. Prachi said, “I think very direct propositions were made to get cast in a certain film, a big film, but I have outright said no. Even after that director has called me, after saying no, I have still said that I am not interested in your film.”
In the interview, she said that as a youngster in the industry, she could never wrap her head around on being told that she isn’t ‘hot enough’ and that she needed to do more ‘sexy songs’ or a ‘sexy photo shoot’. She told the portal, “In the film business, people want you to be what only a certain man wants you to be. You are always looked at from a male gaze. And I was always told like, ‘You are not hot enough. You need to be hot. You are too young too cute. I think you need to do a sexy shoot. All you need to do a sexy song’. And I didn’t understand that. I was like, ‘But for who should I do these sexy shoots. For who should I do these sexy songs.’ Don’t you see what I am doing in my films? That I can act."
Prachi further said that she and her manager have sometimes realized that she was being replaced through a third person’s Facebook post. She further said, “And then we confronted the filmmaker and said that ‘You know in the next six days we were supposed to start shooting for you. And we have been told that 'you are not okay doing a certain song or a certain scene we had to replace you'. Now we are looking to make the role far sexier or raunchier. So yeah that has happened in the past. It again happened a couple of months ago. So it’s nothing new to me and I feel like a lot of people will sadly go through as I said it’s not just a thing of the past and I experienced it recently as well."
Prachi also questioned the manliness of filmmakers and said, “Waise toh bade mard bante hain (They say they're honourable men) but when it comes to working they are not even man enough to send you a text or a call.”
(Source: Bollywood Bubble)
