Is there casting couch in Malayalam? Actor Sreenivasan says never heard of it before

Two days after Member of Parliament, actor and president of Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), Innocent, denied the existence of casting couch in Malayalam entertainment industry, veteran actor Sreenivasan also reacted to the matter while attending a press conference as part of his latest movie Ayaal Sassi's promotion.

Read more: Not so Innocent? WCC slams actor-turned-MP's 'casting couch' and 'bad women' remarks

The filmmaker said that he has never come across instances of women getting exploited in the industry in the past 40 years.

"Despite being a part of the industry for a long time, I have never heard about people asking for sexual favours to get roles in movies. Nobody exploited me and I have not heard anyone complaining such cases until the recent allegations reported in media," Sreenivasan said adding that he has never even heard the word casting couch before.

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When reporters stated that the actor is trying to avoid their questions on his reaction related to the recent South Indian actress' abduction case, Sreenivasan reacted: "Will the exploitations on women change if I react?" and went on talking about broiler chickens and pesticide-contaminated fruits and vegetables available in the market.

Sreenivasan was asked about casting couch in the industry in the wake of recent allegations raised by the newly formed Mollywood women's organisation, Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), after Innocent claimed that unlike yesteryears, the industry is clean now without any sexual harassment. Through the Facebook page of the association, they had confirmed that aspiring actresses new to the field have often been subjected to abuse in the industry.

Earlier, leading Malayalam actress Parvathy had also opened up about the sexual harassment that exists in Mollywood. "There exists people who ask women to sleep with them in order to get a role. I have been asked. They ask very blatantly as if it's their right. Of course, now they don't ask me, because after a point when you have made a mark, making it clear that we will not cooperate for that, then they won't ask. Casting couch is a reality in Malayalam, absolutely. I know a lot of people know about that, and it's there in many other industries also," she had alleged during the show Talk Time with Mathukkutty.