Imtiaz Ali reacts to backlash over his casting couch: “Obviously terrible things have happened…”
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Imtiaz Ali reacts to backlash over his casting couch: “Obviously terrible things have happened…”

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After Vinta Nanda lashed out at Imtiaz Ali over his comments on casting couch in the film industry, the latter has issued a clarification on the same.

Imtiaz Ali comes out with a clarification after Vinta Nanda condemned him for giving a couch remark.

Imtiaz Ali comes out with a clarification after Vinta Nanda condemned him for giving a couch remark.

Recent filmmaker-writer Vinta Nanda raged Imtiaz Ali over his comments on casting couch in Bollywood. She knocked him out for commenting on women’s issues at an important industry platform like IFFI, with no experience. When she questioned him for speaking up for women, she said he should have refrained from speaking instead. Now Imtiaz Ali has issued a clarification saying that his words were misunderstood.

Reacting to Vinta Nanda’s criticism, Imtiaz Ali wrote, “Oh, there seems to be a misunderstanding that I must clarify. I have not denied or disputed the many harassments that Vinta ji and many other friends have spoken about; in fact, these incidents are deeply troubling and must be dealt with seriously and consistently.”

Imtiaz Ali’s Instagram Story

He further added, “I pointed out that it is doubly frustrating that the entire film industry, all the hundreds of men on each set who are otherwise remarkably well-behaved, are given a bad name for a few actions. Of course, terrible things have happened and continue to happen and they are shameful – as an industry and a nation we should have a zero tolerance policy against them. We must uphold our honor together and regardless of gender,” he added.

For the uninitiated, Imtiaz Ali was speaking at IFFI 2024 in Goa, and was asked about the presence of cast couch in Bollywood. India Today quoted him as saying, “I have been a director in the Hindi film industry for 15-20 years. I have heard a lot about the casting couch. A girl comes in, she is scared and she feels the need to compromise. Let me tell you, if a woman or girl can’t say no, that doesn’t necessarily increase her chances of success. It’s not like if a girl compromises, she’s definitely going to get a role.”

He further added, “If a girl can say ‘no’ and respect herself, only then others will respect her too. People like me and many others often think whether we take someone seriously or not; we have to respect a person to cast her.” Imtiaz’s statements drew a lot of attention, and Vinta shared a statement on Instagram calling him out.

“Imtiaz Ali should stop pontificating about what women face in the entertainment industry. Of course, a Kareena Kapoor is safe because she is privileged. And he must know that the casting couch exists! Why has IFFI Goa chosen him to speak on behalf of women? Is it to whitewash the truth ?If men like him had the courtesy to refrain from speaking on a subject of which they have no experience, one will believe that the change has taken place,” she wrote.

previous, Imtiaz Ali also shared a clarification over another report that mentioned he had to fire a male crew member from the highway for misconduct. He wrote that this was not the case. “To make a little clarification – there was no wrongdoing on the sets of the film Highway and no one was sent back from that unit. The unit on Highway was exemplary,” he wrote.

News movies Imtiaz Ali reacts to backlash over his casting couch: “Obviously terrible things have happened…”