Reports about casting couches tend to make the news more often than people in the business would like. Radhika Apte, Ranveer Singh, Ayushmann Khurrana, and others have talked about this dark side of Bollywood. Years ago, actor Shakti Kapoor was accused of being a predator and offering projects in return for favours.
Over a decade ago, veteran Bollywood actor Shakti Kapoor got into trouble when he was accused of asking an undercover aspiring actress for sexual favours in return for acting jobs. The event was part of a plan to show the bad side of the entertainment business.
The alleged incident happened when a woman who wanted to be an actress went up to Shakti Kapoor and pretended to be looking for acting jobs. He didn't know it, but she was part of a set-up with hidden cameras to catch evidence of sexual exploitation in the business. Kapoor was accused of talking about sexual things with the undercover actor and making inappropriate offers to her.
At a press conference, he said, “I did go to meet her at Hotel Tulip Star. I am not a saint or God. I am a healthy human being. I admit that I did wrong, but the girl provoked me to make certain gestures and indulge in sex talk.”
The scandal made a lot of noise in the media and Bollywood, and many people criticised Kapoor's claimed actions. The event brought attention to the fact that casting couch culture is common and that actors and actresses who want to be stars are often taken advantage of.
Shakti Kapoor, who is known for playing villains and funny characters, strongly rejected the accusations and said that he was caught in a well-planned plot to hurt his reputation. He said that he had never done anything like that, and he kept saying that throughout the whole thing.
Even though the scandal hurt Kapoor's reputation and set back his career for a while, he finally got back on his feet and continued to work in the movie business. But the event was a wake-up call for the industry to deal with the problem of exploitation and take steps to protect aspiring talent from people who try to take advantage of them.
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It's important to remember that the sting operation and the accusations against Shakti Kapoor happened more than a decade ago. Since then, the star has kept quiet about the situation. Still, it is a big part of Bollywood's history, and it shows that aspiring actors and actresses need a safer and more open atmosphere where they don't have to worry about being taken advantage of.