Actor Renuka Shahane recently shared a disturbing incident from the early years of her career. A married producer once visited her home and suggested she “live with him” in return for a steady monthly stipend and the position of brand ambassador for a company. The conversation, she revealed, left both her and her mother stunned.
Her disclosure has reopened a conversation Bollywood is familiar with but still uncomfortable fully confronting, the casting couch, power dynamics and the insecurity women often navigate behind the curtain of glamour.
Renuka’s story did not end there. She also recalled how Raveena Tandon, despite being a top star and coming from a well-known film family, had to take extraordinary measures for her safety. According to Renuka, Raveena changed her hotel room every single day during shoots to avoid unwanted attention and potential threats.
The revelation makes one thing clear, vulnerability in the industry has never been limited to only newcomers. Even stardom and lineage were not shields strong enough.
Over the years, multiple actresses have spoken about similar encounters. Radhika Apte shared that a film role was once dangled in front of her, with a condition that she needed to be “comfortable” with a producer. Mouni Roy recently spoke about facing inappropriate behaviour during a narration meeting, a space meant for creative discussion, not misconduct.
Surveen Chawla has described the casting couch as a harsh reality she encountered while transitioning from television to films. Kalki Koechlin recalled being invited to a late-night dinner under the guise of a “getting to know you” meeting, which quickly turned uncomfortable. Prachi Desai, too, has spoken publicly about being asked for sexual favours.
Different generations. Different journeys. The same underlying power play.
These accounts are not isolated anecdotes. They map a larger, systemic problem. They highlight how authority, access and opportunity have often been leveraged to silence, manipulate or intimidate women in the entertainment industry.
What makes these revelations more telling is that many of the women who spoke out were not struggling unknown faces. They were actresses with visibility, fan bases and established careers, yet even they were not immune.
This begs a far larger question: if women with influence faced this, what did those without backing endure?
Bollywood has seen increasing conversations around safety, accountability and workplace misconduct in the past few years. There is more awareness, more open dialogue and more public support today than ever before.
But awareness is not the same as implementation.
Policies, grievance committees, and industry-wide protocols exist on paper. Yet, the repetition of similar stories across timelines makes one question how effectively these measures translate into real protection on film sets, in studios and behind closed-door meetings.
Women have shared. Women have warned. Women have survived. Now it is time for the industry to do more than listen, it must act. Because the most pressing question is not how many spoke up, but rather:
How many more will have to, before safety becomes the norm instead of the exception?
