Bollywood actress Isha Koppikar recently shared her distressing experience with the casting couch during her early years in the industry. Reflecting on her ordeal, Isha recounted a particularly harrowing encounter when she was just 18 years old.

“At 18, I was approached by a secretary and an actor who implied that to secure work, I had to be ‘friendly’ with actors,” Isha revealed. She humorously added, “I am very friendly, but what does ‘friendly’ mean? I am so friendly that Ekta Kapoor once advised me to have some attitude.”

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In a recent interview, Isha delved deeper into her experiences, narrating an incident with an A-list actor when she was around 22-23 years old. “One actor asked me to meet him alone, without my driver or anyone else, citing rumours about him being involved with other actresses. He said, ‘There are already controversies about me, and the staff spreads rumours.’ But I refused and told him that I couldn’t come alone,” she recounted.

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Isha also recalled instances where secretaries of actors and directors behaved inappropriately. “They wouldn’t just touch you inappropriately; they would squeeze your arm and say, ‘Heroes ke sath bahut dosti karni padegi (You will have to be very friendly with the actors),’ in a sleazy way,” she shared, highlighting the uncomfortable situations she faced.

Isha Koppikar began her Bollywood journey in 2000 with a minor role in Khalid Mohamed’s “Fiza,” where she shared the screen with Karisma Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan. She also made a notable appearance in Prakash Jha’s “Rahul” through an item number. Her official debut came in 2001 with Rajiv Rai’s “Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat,” featuring Arjun Rampal and Sunil Shetty. Subsequently, she starred in K. Raghavendra Rao’s comedy “Aamdani Atthani Kharcha Rupaiyaa” opposite Govinda.

Isha’s candid revelations shed light on the darker side of the film industry, a reality that many actors face but seldom discuss openly. Her courage to speak out against such experiences highlights the importance of addressing and challenging inappropriate behavior in the entertainment world.