In a recent interview, Radhika Apte recounted her experience while working in the South Indian film industry earlier in her career, which would make her cry if she faced it today.
Actress, Radhika Apte made her debut in Bollywood when she first appeared in a small role in the film, Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi! in 2005. Since then, she has not looked back and has made a successful career for herself in the film industry. With more than two decades of experience under her belt, she has starred in a number of hit films, including Badlapur, Pad Man, Phobia, Parched, and more.
Today, Radhika is widely known for her strong screen presence and fearless choices, be it in Bollywood or in regional cinema. However, not everything in her decades-long career in the film industry was easy. In a recent interview, the actress spoke about her early experiences working in South Indian films. While she praised the industry for consistently delivering strong films for viewers to enjoy, she also recalled an uncomfortable incident she faced as the only woman on a film set in that region.
Radhika Apte's first lead role came way back in 2009, only a few years after she made her debut, in the Bengali film, Antaheen. After consistently shuffling between Tollywood, Bollywood, and the South film industry, Radhika found mainstream recognition with Siram Raghavan's 2015 film, Badlapur. Since then, she has emerged as one of the most respected actresses in Indian cinema.
Although today she is in a position where she can freely choose which projects she wants to work on, that was not always the case. Recently, in an interview with SCREEN, Radhika revealed that early in her career, the lack of power, with the addition of financial pressure, forced her into many uncomfortable situations. She revealed that she had to turn away high-profile projects in Bollywood when she realised the toxic environment they brought and the people's true intentions. She stated:
"When I realized, I said I’m never going to work with them. They’re awful people. Very big people. If I start putting names, you’ll be like, ‘Whaaat?’ But yeah, not working with you guys.”
This led Radhika to venture into the South Indian film industry. Although, to her disappointment, this industry was also no better than the Hindi film industry. The only reason that she agreed to act in the South films was that she was really in dire need of money. Detailing one incident that made her the most uncomfortable on one of the film sets here, she said:
"Some of the films that I did, I had a really difficult time on those sets. I remember there was this one time, where I was the only woman on set. We were shooting in this small town. They wanted to add more padding on my bums and breasts. They were like, 'Amma, more padding!' I said, 'How much more padding?' How much rounder would you make somebody?"
While Radhika considers herself quite “brave” and “outspoken”, some of her experiences while working on South film sets left her traumatised. According to her, if given the choice, she'd “never, ever want to be put in that situation again”. Her experience working there was so bad that she said she'd cry if she faced something like that again, and wished no woman be put in the position she was.
One of the main reasons that she faced continuous harassment on set was that she was the only woman present there. She recounted having no manager beside her at the time. In fact, her team consisted only of men because they’d given her the role. Not only did they not allow her to bring her own team, but she also added that lewd jokes were made about women on the sets of films. She said:
“I’m giving you the extreme example of literally telling you what your physicality needs to be, with no women around you.”
What are your thoughts on Radhika Apte’s experiences while working in the South Indian film industry? Let us know.
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