This Bollywood director told me to sleep with him to get an important scene in his film, reveals national award winning actress Usha Jadhav

Popular Marathi actress and national award winner Usha Jadhav of Nitesh Tiwari’s Bhootnath Returns and Ram Gopal Varma’s Veerappan fame has created a stir with her confessions in a BBC documentary titled Bollywood’s Dark Secret, where she has spoken about being sexually exploited in exchange for work.

“Sleep with me if you want to do this part. I need sexual relation with you. I said no. He said if you are saying no, then I am not going to cast you in the film,” said Usha Jadav, who won the national award for her terrific portrayal of a rustic housewife in the 2012 film Dhag.

"I never thought of the impact my disclosure would make. It was just something that needed to be told on a given platform. I wish more people from the Indian entertainment industry would come forward with their own narratives of exploitation. It will help the MeToo movement reach our entertainment industry. It’s a very important movement for all of us, everybody should just come out and say no. Nothing is easy, you need to be strong. I have done that and I am still working".

“If we all come together, the men in the industry will realise how wrong they are. At least, they will feel shameful about their actions. When I started my career, I was in a situation where people touched me inappropriately. But I just put my foot down and proved that if you have talent, you will survive," Usha Jadhav concluded.