Actress Kiran Tabeir is yet another actress coming forward about the issue of the ‘casting couch’ in Pakistan.
In an interview with Something Haute, the Judwa starlet called how this is an undisputed reality of the entertainment industry. She even blamed the practice of casting couch for lost opportunities. Even going on to explain the situations under the guise of which these practices persist. Like private invitations to ‘meet up’.
“Today, if anyone says that casting couch doesn’t exist in this industry then I don’t accept it. I started with very small roles; my journey started from playing extras, junior artists, minor supporting roles, major supporting, negative, negative lead, and then I have reached lead characters. I have a long journey and it is a process. People usually write that I have not reached the position where I should be despite being a good actress and I think this ‘casting couch‘ is one of the factors to be blamed for it. I was finalized for a lot of big projects; I got calls to meet with some big shot director or producer two days before the shoot and when I didn’t accept the invitation, I was told that the project has been delayed. Later, I saw those dramas with a different cast on TV,” she said.
Kiran Tabeir clarified that this does not in any way undermine the efforts of actors that made it to the top on their own. However, the reality of this foul practice cannot be denied. Though it’s unlikely that most artists did not encounter this in some capacity.
“I believe that it exists but that doesn’t undermine the hard work of many actors. Not everyone is a part of it and this is not the only way to success. However, every actor has to face it one way or the other.”
It is pertinent to mention that the ‘casting couch’ normally refers to the creative and visionary team behind a project that evaluates artists from a casting call. However, in South Asia, the term refers to stakeholders such as directors, producers, and so on asking for sexual favors in exchange for a role in a project.
