South Indian actress Yashika Anand who rose to fame with her role in Iruttu Arayil Muruttu Kuthu had shared instances of sexual misconduct she had faced in her career. One of them, she added, involved a popular director, who is labelled a father figure and a big star in the Tamil film industry.
“I do not wish to name him now because it was difficult for me to overcome the experience. I am now over it,” she said in an event in Chennai. Yashika explained that the incident occurred when she had auditioned for a role. “He had asked me to wait outside while he spoke to my mother.
He told her that if I wanted to do this role, I had to sleep with him. That’s when I wondered why people take advantage of their positions,” she said. The actress added that she always stood up to those who harassed her in public. “Once, when someone assaulted me in public, I kicked him back.
Another time, there was a police officer in my area who made me feel unsafe. He was removed after I filed a complaint,” she said. A couple of years ago, a video of a police officer asking a woman for her “rate” spread like wildfire on all social media platforms. “I was the woman in that video.
We filed a case against it but nothing has happened so far. Complaints too don’t work most times. I believe self-defense is the best thing,” she added. On her views about ‘casting couch’, Yashika stated, “Let’s have professionalism and not go through this way and work (sic). Not everybody is wrong but this (sexual harassment) should be removed from Tamil industry and all the other industries.”
Recently, a fan compared Yashika Anand with Mia Khalifa and this is how the actress replied:
Yashika’s picture soon spread like wildfire and there were many who started comparing her to Mia Khalifa. One of the users wrote “Indian Mia Khalifa ” in the comment section, however, Yashika gave a fitting reply. Here, check out her reply:
Several actresses in the Indian film industry have been a victim of sexual absuses online. In fact, they have also been a victim of harassment in the industry. The actresses have spoken up against casting couch and harassment. Previously, #MeToo movement hit the headlines which exposed some popular names from several professional fields across the country.
With feminism and women empowerment becoming the most-talked subjects, actresses have become more open about prevalent issues. With the MeToo movement encouraging several women to share their ordeal of sexual abuse at the workplace, the film industry is also no exception.