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Madalsa Sharma recalls being asked to wear a bikini in front of a director at age 19: ‘Not my job’
Madalsa Sharma was 19 when a renowned filmmaker asked her to wear a bikini in front of him during a casting meeting, an encounter she says has made her feel uncomfortable.
Madalsa Sharma, who played Kavya in Anupamaa, recently opened up about a casting couch encounter (Credit: @madalsasharma/ Instagram)
Television actress Madalsa Sharma, best known for playing Kavya in the popular Star Plus daily soap Anupamaa, has spoken about a disturbing experience she faced as a teenager trying to make her way in the film industry. In a conversation on The Male Feminist podcast, she described an incident involving a prominent filmmaker who asked her to appear before him in a bikini during what was supposed to be a professional casting meeting. Madalsa is now married to Mimoh, veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty’s son.
Madalsa Sharma was around 19 years old when the incident took place. “A very renowned filmmaker had called me for a meeting. I was around 19 at that time. He had asked me that he was looking for a girl who was comfortable in a bikini. I thought in my head that it is no big deal to be honest,” Her first instinct, she explained, was to treat it as a legitimate professional discussion, but she also wanted to understand the creative context before agreeing to anything. “Though I was 19 but I was smart,” she added.
According to Madalsa, what came next made the filmmaker’s intentions clear. “The director said that he wants to see whether I can wear a bikini. ‘I want to see your body language,’ he said, that whether I would be comfortable to wear it in front of the camera. I said, ‘I am sorry, I am an actor by profession and if there is a requirement for a bikini scene, or whether it is a saree or a lehenga, whatever it is, I am ready to wear it in front of the camera, and I would be comfortable because that is a part of my job. But to wear it in front of you is not a part of my job! So if you want to cast me on the basis of trusting a talent then you can, and if you don’t, then I know where the door is!'” she recalled saying it to the director before leaving the meeting.
The aftermath, she recounted, did not dwell on the encounter after walking out. A few days later, however, she came across a report about the same casting, which revealed that the filmmaker and the actress who eventually got the part were in a personal relationship.
Madalsa Sharma made her acting debut in Telugu cinema in 2009 with Fitting Master and has since worked across Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Punjabi, and Hindi productions. She became a household name through Anupamaa on Star Plus, where she played Kavya, a character with morally complex shades in a family drama centred on a housewife who challenges social expectations around marriage and identity. The lead role was played by Rupali Ganguly, while she exited the show in September 2024.
Disclaimer: This account shares a personal experience regarding industry misconduct and professional boundaries; it is intended for informational and awareness purposes and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Readers are encouraged to prioritize their safety and seek guidance from established professional bodies when navigating career-related challenges.
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