Bollywood's #MeToo Moment

A wave of sexual-abuse allegations have exposed the seedy underbelly of India’s film industry, culminating in a rape case involving two of its biggest stars. Time’s up in Bollywood, writes Alia Waheed

- Alia Waheed

In an anonymous office in Mumbai, the home of India’s mammoth film industry affectionately known as Bollywood, a teenage girl stands in front of two film executives in suits. The younger one hands her a script. “This is the scene where the dancer is trying to seduce the cop,” he says. “Strip off and show us how you would do it.” The two men exchange glances, barely maintaining the pretence of an audition.

The girl hesitates. Although she is pretty, in an industry where former Miss World contestants struggle to land major roles, being merely pretty isn’t enough.

“In the end, I did what I had to do,” says Sangeeta*, 19, an aspiring actress. “The door was locked so I didn’t have a choice. I felt dirty afterwards, but everyone knows if you want to get anywhere in Bollywood, you have to be in with the people of influence. I just numb myself to it. Trust me, any actress who is anywhere got there via someone’s bed.”

With its colourful costumes and OTT song-and-dance numbers, the Bollywood film industry has long been perceived as an exotic, fun and light-hearted alternative to Hollywood. But beneath the glitz and glamour lies a dark side – a seedy underbelly that was forced to the surface in June 2019 when one of its most well-known actors, Aditya Pancholi, then 54, was accused of rape by a famous Bollywood actress.

While the actress cannot be named for legal reasons, she has been described in the Indian media as a serious A-lister, the Bollywood equivalent of Jennifer Lawrence. The case relates to an incident that took place 16 years ago, when the then-struggling young actress was trying to get a foothold in the industry.