Imtiaz Ali recently spoke about the safety of women in Bollywood and how to make film sets safe for women at the on-going International Film Festival of India. Bhumi Pednekar and Vani Tripathi were also part of the panel. Imtiaz recalled two incidents involving Alia Bhatt and Kareena Kapoor from the sets of his films Highway and Jab We Met, where he made quicky decisions to ensure the safety of actresses.
Imtiaz Ali went on to say that the casting couch doesn’t exist and just because a girl says no that doesn’t mean her chances of getting films will get less. Reacting to this statement made by the filmmaker, Vinta Nanda, a filmmaker herself, slammed Imtiaz for making such frivolous comments on behalf of women.
She wrote, “Imtiaz Ali should stop pontificating about what women face in the entertainment industry. Naturally, a Kareena Kapoor is safe because she is privileged. And, he surely must know that the casting couch exists! Why has IFFI Goa selected him to speak on behalf of women? Is it to whitewash the truth? If men like him had the courtesy to abstain from speaking on a subject they have no experience about, one will believe that change in the taken place.”
She tagged Imtiaz Ali in the post and further wrote: “It’s shocking to see reports of @imtiazaliofficial making all sorts of statements about women’s issues on an important industry platform like @iffigoa. With zero experience, he should have abstained from speaking instead. Who believes there’s no casting couch in the entertainment industry and that women are safe here Raise your hands!”
Regarding the statement made by Imtiaz Ali, he was heard saying, “I have been a director in the Hindi film industry for 15-20 years. I have heard a lot about the casting couch. A girl comes in, she’s scared, and she feels the need to compromise. Let me tell you, if a woman or girl cannot say ‘no,’ her chances of succeeding don’t necessarily increase. It’s not like if a girl compromises, she’ll definitely get a role.”
He further recalled an event from the sets of his film Highway and said, “There have been three times in my entire life that I’ve sent people (crew members) back, from different places, from different sets. I am happy that it’s only three. I remember once it happened on the sets of Highway. We were shooting on the rural highway with Randeep and Alia and there were no proper vanity vans back in 2013. Alia had to change, go for nature’s call in different, unusual places.”
He added, “Once I had to send this guy back from the set when he was trying to be around her during that time. So yes, it did happen with me as a filmmaker thrice, but not anymore. Times have changed, changed drastically. Actresses are really safe on the sets. It’s not like that anymore.”