Actress Sai Tamhankar, known for her strong performances in both Marathi and Hindi cinema, recently spoke about her early experience with the casting couch in an interview with Bollywood Bubble. She recalled a disturbing phone call from years ago that she quickly shut down, saying she gave a “karara jawab” (a firm reply) to the unwanted offer.‘You have to face it everywhere’While talking about the issue, Sai said that this problem is not limited to the film industry alone. “Not only in our profession, but such things happen everywhere,” she said, pointing out that women face this kind of predatory behaviour in many areas of life. “Fortunately, it never happened to me except for one random phone call many, many years ago—and I gave it a firm reply,” she said strongly.‘Casting couch is not the only way’Sai also stressed that how you carry yourself matters when working in the industry. “I think if your intent is in the right place, you have nothing to worry about. And it’s important to know that there are other ways—casting couch is not the only way.”On ‘Hunterrr’ and public reactionLooking back at her bold role in the 2015 cult film ‘Hunterrr’, where she starred alongside Gulshan Devaiah, Sai shared her mature view on dealing with public judgement. “If I start thinking about ‘log kya kahenge’ (what will people say), then I shouldn’t be an actor. I believe that once you accept acting as your profession, you also accept that people will judge you.”Interestingly, the famous kissing scene in ‘Hunterrr’ was filmed a year after the main shooting had finished. “I never saw it as bold or shocking—it was simply part of my job,” Sai said, proud of how the film has become a cult favourite over time.
