Anu Aggarwal breaks silence on casting couch: 'Why are we pretending? It exists everywhere, kya bura hai?'

Former actress and model Anu Aggarwal, who is best known for her breakout role in Aashiqui, recently spoke candidly about her experiences in the film industry, shedding light on her personal journey, professional growth, and the casting couch conversation that continues to stir debate in Bollywood and beyond.In an interview with Pinkvilla, Anu shared, “Each film that I’ve done has added so much to my growth curve. They were all different directors. My first film was with Mahesh Bhatt. He’s a personality in his own right, and I learned so much from him—not just as a director, but as a person. I’ve had close relationships with all my directors.”Without mincing words, Anu addressed the elephant in the room—the casting couch. Refuting any speculation about having faced inappropriate propositions, she said, “There’s no hanky-panky—this is a bed, and this is a casting couch—none of this happened with me. My agent, two years down the line, used to laugh and say, ‘Anu has got her own casting couch.’ It was just a joke.”When asked directly if she had ever encountered the casting couch, Anu replied firmly, “No.” She then added, “But kaha nahi hai casting couch? Why are we pretending? You don’t think corporate houses, banks have casting couches? What are we trying to act like? It’s everywhere.”Exploring the issue from a philosophical perspective, the actress turned yogini delved into the deeper human dynamic. “Since life has started, there has been man and woman—two energies: male and female. Their union is something that everybody seeks. That’s what Earth is. That’s the entire history of the world. Ke aisa hai, bura hai... kya hai yaar... kya bura hai?”She questioned society’s moral outrage on the topic, pointing instead to lost potential and rising stress levels as the bigger issues. “So what if something happens? What’s bad? At the end of the day, if you make it, is it really bad? What’s actually bad is not using your potential. That, I think, is a real loss. You know what’s truly bad? Stress. Everyone’s stressed out. You’re working 18 hours a day, sitting constantly, and your relationships are strained—that’s what I see all around the world.”Opening up about her life post-Bollywood, Anu revealed that she lived at a Yoga University for 12 years, six of which she spent as a sanyasi (renunciate). “I had shaved my head, owned only one bag, and had just two sets of clothes, which I washed myself at 4 in the morning. I had only one slipper.”Reflecting on her return to the material world, she shared a poignant moment: “When I saw lipstick after 12 years and put it on my lips, I thought, ‘God, this is so toxic. Oh God, this is so toxic.’”Anu concluded the conversation with a call for honesty and authenticity. “At the end of the day, why are we pretending? What’s the big deal being made about casting couch? Let’s be real.”