B-grade treatment

Recently, during the shoot of Chiranjeevi’s upcoming  movie Khaidi No. 150, actress Catherine Tresa was asked to leave when she had a disagreement with Chiranjeevi’s daughter Sushmita Konidela, the stylist of the film. Worse still is the news that’s put out from the unit: Catherine shown the door... she has too much attitude... earlier too she got into tiffs...”

And nobody wants to even hear Catherine’s version. The actress, too, seems afraid to voice her opinion, lest she gets sidelined. We rarely hear of male actors being treated like this.

Apparently, even during the audio release of a film or an awards ceremony, actresses are expected to arrive early at the event, take their seat, and wait for the actor’s grand entry — so the limelight is on him. Another obnoxious case is that of Niddhi Agerwal, who is making her debut in Bollywood with Tiger Shroff-starrer Munna Micheal.  

She was reportedly made to sign a ‘no-dating clause’. According to the clause, the actress isn’t allowed to date anyone, both on the sets and off it, until the shooting ends.

But the same clause did not apply to the actor of the movie, clearly showing the discrimination that exists in the industry. Reacting to the every day discrimination, actress and directors from the industry play it safe.

LAKSHMI MANCHU
About Catherine’s case:
As a producer, I have let go of actresses involved in my project for reasons I don’t mention as it may affect their image. Things like these happen all the time. Newer actresses are simply making an issue out of trivial things.

About dating clause:
The actress should have spoken out against it and taken a stand for herself. But she signed it. Everyone likes to be in the limelight and it is our job.

About arriving early:
I’ve also come late but the bigger actors deserve respect. I don’t even mind getting up from the front row seats of an award show and giving it to big actors. We are here to work and not to satisfy any one’s ego. One has to fight for herself and not crib about it

Nitasha Gaurav, celebrity stylist
 “Usually, we give just one outfit option to the artistes, but it is not dictatorial — there’s always a backup. Before we finalise the outfit, we have an in-depth discussion with the actors to understand what they want, like or dislike. After all, they are the ones who are going to be wearing it ultimately and they should be comfortable in it. Disagreements or quarrels regarding outfits are rare in the industry, and this may be a one-off case.”

Kamana Jethmalani
The actor, who was on a long maternity leave, says, many actresses have problems with their designed attire but that’s a small matter as compared to the many grave issues to be tackled during film making. “If we as actresses do not feel nice in a particular designed dress, we definitely ask for minor changes and designers often do it. We cannot give our 100 percent if we are not comfortable with the dress. Being vocal about it is no harm. I do not think this should be the reason for any actress to be thrown out.”

Pragya Jaiswal
“It’s the director’s vision and his call. We all discuss before going onto the sets so we are made to understand every minute detail — right from our role to our appearances.

About Catherine’s case: I’ve never faced any problem so far. It also depends from film to film and situation to situation. I would not like to comment on it.”

Industry insider speaks
A source who doesn’t wish to be named says, “There is a lot of discrimination that happens on a daily basis. When the first look of a film is released, there is no photo of the actress, it’s always the actor. Also, on the sets, the actresses are asked to be there way before the actor. The managers of most actresses are always the ones facing the brunt as they get yelled at if the actress is late. Also, they must be constantly in touch with the actor’s manager to ensure that the actress comes first.”

Having said that, the source also agrees that not everyone is alike. It’s usually the bigger stars that have such petty issues. Rana Daggubati, despite his popularity, is very cool with sharing space with his actresses.