Imtiaz Ali on casting couch in Bollywood: ‘Belief that compromising will improve your chances is a myth’ | Bollywood FilmyMeet

Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali feels the perception that compromising in Bollywood can pave the path to success is a myth. He stressed that people who compromise often end up compromising their careers as well. Also read: Subhash Ghai was like a Dronacharya to me, learnt a lot from his films: Imtiaz Ali

Imtiaz Ali on casting couch issue

The filmmaker got candid about the issue of casting couch issue in Bollywood at IFFI Goa, where he shrugged off the perception that compromising guarantees success.

“I have been a director in the Hindi film industry for 15-20 years. I have heard a lot about the casting couch. A girl comes in, she’s scared, and she feels the need to compromise. Let me tell you, if a woman or girl cannot say ‘no,’ her chances of succeeding don’t necessarily increase. It’s not like if a girl compromises, she’ll definitely get a role,” he said as reported by India Today.

Here, the director stressed on the importance of self-respect. He shared, “If a girl can say ‘no’ and respects herself, only then will others respect her too. People like me and many others often think about whether we take someone seriously or not; we need to respect a person to cast her”.

He ended by urging people to understand that “this belief that compromising will improve your chances in the film industry is a myth”. Imtiaz said that in his experience, it’s quite the opposite, and shared that people who compromise often end up compromising their careers as well.

More about Imtiaz

Imtiaz made his debut as a director with the 2005 film Socha Na Tha. He then directed films such as Love Aaj Kal, Highway, Jab We Met, Jab Harry Met Sejal, Laila Majnu and Love Aaj Kal. His last film was Amar Singh Chamkila starring Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra.

Amar Singh Chamkila is based on the real-life story of the Punjabi singer and his wife who were assassinated at a young age. Diljit Dosanjh played the character of Chamkila whereas Parineeti Chopra played his singer-wife Amarjot. The film has been produced by Mohit Choudhary, Select Media Holdings LLP, Saregama, and Window Seat Films. It was released on Netflix on April 12.