Bollywood actress Fatima Sana Shaikh has addressed the controversy surrounding her earlier remarks about facing the casting couch in the South film industry, stating that her words were “taken out of context and blown up”.
“It Was One Incident, Not the Whole Industry”
In a recent interview with News18, Fatima clarified that she was referring to a specific personal experience with a small-time producer or casting director, and not making a sweeping statement about the entire South Indian film industry.
“It was just one particular incident that happened. I was talking about it in passing and suddenly, it became like this huge thing. It was not necessary,” she said.
Fatima Urges for Perspective
The Dangal actress emphasized that unpleasant experiences exist across all industries, and her intention was never to generalize.
“Every woman goes through this. A woman may walk down the street and have a man hit on her or catcall her. It exists everywhere. I dealt with it and moved on,” she added.
Backlash and Clarification
Fatima’s earlier comments had sparked backlash online, with some accusing her of defaming South cinema. She has now reiterated that the incident was minor and should not be seen as a reflection of the industry as a whole.
“It wasn’t as big a deal as it was made to look. It doesn’t become a whole representation of what the South film industry is,” she concluded.
On the Work Front
Fatima will next be seen in ‘Gustaakh Ishq’ alongside Vijay Varma, and in Anurag Basu’s ‘Metro… In Dino’, which also stars Sara Ali Khan, Aditya Roy Kapur, and Pankaj Tripathi.
