New Delhi: Malavika Sreenath, a well-known Malayalam actress, recently discussed her traumatic experience on a casting couch in an interview. Malavika, who has appeared in films like 'Madhuram' and 'Saturday Night', said she was harassed while auditioning for the role of Manju Warrier's daughter three years ago. After she finished auditioning, the individual who captured the video touched her inappropriately from behind. She described being told to wait 10 minutes inside the room while her mother and sister waited outside.
Malavika remarked, "Casting couch is very much a part of the film industry," in a recent interview with a Malayalam television show. She said, "I can say that I am a victim. I have not spoken about this before. Now, I can talk about this as I have a space in the industry. Three years back, I was called to audition for a role in a Manju Warrier film. The audition was for the role of Manju Warrier’s daughter. It was only later that I got to know that those who auditioned me were not part of the film. I was excited about getting a chance to work with Manju Warrier. I had no contacts in the film field. I could not check if the offer was genuine. My mom, I and sister were taken to the audition in an Innova.”
The actress added,“He was taking advantage of my situation. He said, ‘You don’t need to do anything. Let your mom and sister sit outside. You just need to stand here for 10 minutes.’ I began crying. I did not know what to do. The person had a camera that he was using to shoot. I tried to knock down the camera from his hand. While he got distracted and tried to retrieve the camera, I ran out of the room crying. My mother and sister did not understand why I was crying.”
Malavika went on to say that she started crying. She made her way out of the building and took a random bus. She also revealed that she faced the casting couch two-three times.
Earlier, Malayalam actress Parvathy also addressed her casting couch experience.