The revelations of the Justice Hema Committee report have left the entire nation shocked. The allegations in the report about the Malayalam film industry have raised concerns about the working conditions in the world of showbiz. While several actors have reacted to the report, the latest on the list is Stree 2 star Abhishek Banerjee. The actor condemned the findings of the report and said that the problem stems from the power structure in film industries.
In an exclusive interview with News18 Showsha, Banerjee, who has also been a casting director for 15 years, called the findings of the Hema Committee “disgusting”. He revealed that even one of his employees once tried to meet an actress outside the professional setting but faced strict punishment. “As for my company, we had a very simple rule that we will not let any of our employees meet any actor – male or female – outside the office premises. Nobody is allowed to meet any actor outside the office – no coffee meetings, no dinner meetings, no drink meetings. You’re an actor, come to the office, meet us for discussions and go. It has happened in my company also. Somebody sent a message at night to an actress and all that and I got to know. We immediately fired them,” Banerjee said.
As for Bollywood, the actor added, “Sach bataun toh humne toh bohot clean kar diya hai casting departments main. When I became a casting director, that’s exactly the first thing I said. Anmol (the co-founder of his company, Casting Bay) and I discussed that we will not keep the name of the company as ‘Abhishek and Anmol Ahuja Company’. We didn’t even give our credits as Abhishek Banerjee and Anmol Ahuja. We always gave our credit as ‘Casting Bay’ so that the power doesn’t lie with us. The problem is the power structure. It’s a feudal mindset. India is deep down still stuck to that feudal mindset that some saviour will come and save you. We are so weak that we will do anything for that saviour. We are very scared to speak up.”
However, Abhishek also argued that a lot has changed in Bollywood as far as casting couch incidents are concerned. “If you ask about our industry, I think it has changed a lot. The audience also understood the importance of casting. Now, the ‘casting couch’ is not associated with casting directors that much. Ab voh baatein kam hoti hain. Pehle it was always about the masala. When I had just become a casting director, I remember I was travelling on a train and some people asked me what I did in Mumbai. I said, ‘Main casting director hoon’. They were like, ‘Oh, casting couch.’ I felt very embarrassed and awkward,” he shared.
“I thought ‘How do I change this perception? What do I tell my in-laws? Are they also thinking the same? Are my parents also thinking the same? Do we have no dignity?’ So, it has been 11-12 years of casting and we have been working on this. Now if you ask actresses or actors, they will tell you that every casting team is very professional. There is a fear because you know social media uproot such people. The #MeToo movement has also helped,” Banerjee added.
The 39-year-old actor further explained how the Me Too movement changed things in the industry and shared, “Sab darr gaye. Sabko samajh main aaya tha you can’t hide anymore. The predators, the people in power are powerless because they’re hiding and doing it. If somebody is doing something in the dark, are they powerful? The law of the jungle is that lions and tigers are kings and hyenas have no power. They come in groups, in hiding. Sher saamne se aata hai.”
“We should stop calling them powerful. Whoever is trying to be a predator is not powerful. They are scared, so they’re telling you to meet them alone at night. We need to clearly understand the difference between powerful and powerless people. Predators are cowards, that’s why they’re trying to oppress a weaker victim when nobody is watching,” Abhishek added.
Besides having acted in successful projects like Stree 2, Stree and Paatal Lok, Abhishek Banerjee also works as a casting director. He co-founded his company, Casting Bay, eight years ago. He has worked as the casting director for films like No One Killed Jessica, The Sky Is Pink and The Dirty Picture among others.
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