Rajeev Khandelwal, one of the most popular actors, has ruled the television, film, and OTT industries with his stunning performances. He was recently seen in Shahid Kapoor starrer Bloody Daddy and no doubt, Rajeev enjoys a huge fan following. But his journey in the world of entertainment was full of struggles. In the latest interview, the actor opened up about his casting couch experience and shared that it is ‘as challenging for men as it is for women’.
In a conversation with India Today, when Rajeev Khandelwal was asked about the difficulties faced by him in the entertainment industry, the actor said, “Men don’t report it as much and women’s things get a lot of momentum also because if a woman goes through casting couch and talks about it, it gathers a lot more momentum as compared to a guy. Having said that, I have also faced casting couch. For some odd reason, our society feels, ‘Ha theek hain, ladka hain, manage kar liya hoga isne (it’s alright, he is a man, he can manage these issues)’.”
Rajeev mentioned that men have adopted to overcome these situations. He said, “They are made like that, I believe. Tomorrow, if I go through casting couch. I have said it in the past also.. but you come back and say, ‘Oh, I have dealt with it, and I am back’.” The actor added that many women feel dirty about themselves after they face these avert circumstances, but that was not the case with him. Rajeev expressed, “I didn’t feel dirty from inside. In my head, I abused that person and said, ‘Sorry boss, I am not going to give in to that’. Men and women are made differently, but things have changed drastically.”
Rajeev Khandelwal added that people’s emotions vary depending on gender. “People have distinct responses to men’s casting couch experiences as compared to women,” he said, adding that this distinction derives from historical causes in which women faced inequity and were denied their rights owing to male supremacy. As a result, society has a stronger affinity for women. But the actor shared, “Men, yes, have to go through it. They are stronger made, physically and mentally, probably to tide over it. A woman, if she’s scarred, the way she is made, I think they are more sensitive, emotional, when it comes to certain things. If they are scarred, they carry it for a longer period of time, is how I would like to believe.” However, Rajeev believes that the scenario is changing in the present.
Rajeev Khandelwal stated that women these days are “stronger, smarter, more confident, and practical” in dealing with their perpetrators. Lastly, he added, “There’s been a change, and I have seen that change happening,” and the actor believes that at least in urban cities, men would fear taking advantage of any woman or assuming that they could fool them.
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