‘I saw him sticking…’: Surveen Chawla opens up about childhood harassment

Actress Surveen Chawla has shared a terrifying incident from her school days when she was harassed as a child. The actress also talked about the continuous existence of the casting couch in Bollywood, which often goes unreported due to fear of people in power.

Surveen Chawla recalls being harassed as a child

In a conversation with Hauterrfly’s The Male Feminist, the actress revealed the horrifying incident when a man flashed her. She recalled, “It was much earlier; I was in my 9th standard. I was at home and stepped outside to play in the evening. I still remember — there was this dark-looking Sardar in a turban riding a cycle. He called me towards him, and as I started walking over, I saw him sticking something out of his pant. Then he started m*** while on the bike…”

“I just took a U-turn and ran away, thinking something scary is going on,” she added.

Years later, while Surveen is now an established actress, she also talked about the dark side of the industry that includes the casting couch. In the conversation, the Sacred Games star revealed that after she got married, she went to meet a director who made a pass at her and tried to kiss her.

The Sacred Games actress  said, “I must have experienced the casting couch multiple times. Let me tell you one tale about Mumbai’s Veera Desai Road. After a meeting inside his office cabin, this director came to see me off at the gate. And mind you, this was after I got married — we even discussed my husband during the meeting. As I was saying goodbye at the door, he leaned in trying to kiss me. I had to push him back. I was startled and asked him what he was doing, and I just walked off.”

Surveen Chawla on work front

Surveen Chawla has been in showbiz since 2005, long before streaming changed the game and strong female parts became the boardroom buzzword. Today, she brings fearlessness to every project — whether it’s the layered emotional terrain of Criminal Justice Season 4, the textured world of Rana Naidu, the unpredictable energy of Mandala Murders, or the horror realm of Andhera.

This year marks two decades in front of the camera for Chawla. After doing everything from iconic TV shows like Kahiin To Hoga (2003), to series like Haq Se (2018), India’s first Netflix original Sacred Games (2018), and more.

This article first appeared on Mid Day