Ranveer Singh opens up about his brush with casting couch in early days, says he was called to a 'seedy place'

The actor revealed that he had been propositioned multiple times during his struggling days.

By ET Online | Updated: Nov 16, 2022, 03.49 PM IST

Ranveer Singh revealed that his journey to stardom has been far from easy.

Bollywood star Ranveer Singh recently opened up about being asked to provide sexual favours by a film director.

Singh, then a newbie with stars in his eyes, came across a filmmaker who promised to launch him in lieu of sexual favours. Although he refused to divulge the name of the person who harassed him, Singh narrated the harrowing experience in detail and how it left him shaken.

The ‘ Bajirao Mastani’ actor was one of the guests at the Marrakech International Film Festival and during an interview with entertainment portal Deadline, he reminisced about his days as a struggler. Recalling the troubling incident, he said, “ This guy calls me to this seedy place and is like, 'Are you a hard worker, or a smart worker?'. I didn't consider myself to be smart, so I said: 'I think I'm a hard worker.' He was like, 'Darling, be smart, be sexy.” Singh had then left the room without a word.

Singh revealed that he had met many people who tried to take liberties with him during his struggling phase. Although such incidents took a toll on him, they also made him more appreciative of the opportunities he had now. “I had all those kinds of experiences during those three-and-a-half years, and I think it was that period that makes me value the opportunities I have now," the star was quoted as saying to Deadline.

The casting couch has long been one of the open secrets of the glamour world. Despite recent efforts like the #MeToo campaigns to call out the exploitation that lurks behind the pretty facade, casting couch, or sexual exploitation of actors, particularly outsiders who lack the safety net of their more well-connected peers, is still an ongoing problem in the industry.

On the work front, Singh was last seen in the biopic ‘Jayesh Jordar’. The versatile actor has rather interesting projects in the pipeline. He will next be seen in the Rohit Shetty directorial ‘Cirkus’ along with Jacqueline Fernandez, Pooja Hegde, and Varun Sharma. The movie will hit the theatres on December 23.

He will also star in Karan Johar’s rom-com ‘Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani’ opposite Alia Bhatt. The film will be released on 28 April 2023.

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