Kalki Koechlin says she was harassed as a student by big-shot Indian producer at Cannes; recalls casting couch experience: ‘Felt disgust’

Many actors have faced casting couch experiences in their careers and have spoken openly about the same. Recently, Kalki Koechlin talked about facing harassment twice — once when she was just a student, by a big shot Indian producer at Cannes. She shared how she got out of the situation and how she still feels ‘disgust’ looking back at the incident.

Speaking to Zoom, Kalki opened up about facing harassment at Cannes years ago when she was working as a promo girl for a mobile brand at the festival. She revealed that she was a student at that time, studying in London. She said, “I have been into incidences where I have been in uncomfortable situations. One such incidence wasn’t in this industry. It was at Cannes. I was not even an actor, I was a student in London at that time and I had gone to Cannes as a promo girl for Nokia phones. There was an Indian producer, I’m not going to say the name. He knew somebody who knew my mother and they put me in touch with him saying, ‘Meet him, he is a big guy.’ So, I met him and went to see his screening at Cannes. He then asked me out for dinner in London, and when I asked him about any leads in work at that point, he made it very clear that I have to be with him in order for that to happen. I, obviously, said no, thank you, and that was the end of that.”

Kalki faced harassment again in Mumbai, where a producer directly approached her. Recalling the incident, she said, “The other time it happened was when I went for an audition here in Mumbai for a film and the producer said, ‘Oh you want to do this film, but I need to get to know you because it’s a big launch.’ He was basically saying the same thing, but I said, ‘I’m sorry. I don’t want to waste your time or mine.'”

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Kalki admitted that although she felt rage in those moments, her first instinct as a woman was to leave the vicinity of the producers for her own safety. Sharing her thoughts, she said, “I have a raging fury inside me. I want to punch that person in the face but like any other woman, I tell myself to keep it in and just get out of the situation, cause it is also out of safety and other reasons. It’s kind of disgust, kind of experience.”