Alia Bhatt Highway : Also talked about casting couch
Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali is an iconic director. He is known for films like Jab We Met, Love Aaj Kal and Highway. Apart from this, he also takes special care of the safety of women on the sets of films. Recently the producer talked about the changing portrayal of women in cinema and other topics.
During a panel discussion with Bhumi Pednekar and Vaani Tripathi at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, Imtiaz spoke about the importance of creating a respectful environment for actresses. During this, he revealed that in his two-decade-long career, he had to remove a crew member thrice for misbehavior.
He told that something similar happened during Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda starrer Highway. This was in the year 2013. Imtiaz said, ‘We were shooting in some remote area. There was no arrangement for a vanity van. Alia had to go here and there to change clothes or to the washroom etc. During this, I saw that a crew member was deliberately trying to stay near her. I immediately removed him. This happened to me three times, but not anymore. Times have changed. Actresses are now safe even on the sets.’
Also talked about casting couch
Apart from this, he also talked about the issue of casting couch. He said, ‘I have been in this film industry for about 15 to 20 years. I have heard a lot about casting couch. A girl comes, she is scared and she feels the need to compromise. I want to tell you that if a woman or girl cannot say ‘no’, then her chances of success do not necessarily increase.
