I lost work and I cried about it: Aditi Rao Hydari on her #MeToo story in Bollywood

Bollywood star Aditi Rao Hydari has joined the list of luminaries’ vocal against the prevalent culture of sexual harassment in the industry by sharing her own #MeToo experience.

The 34-year-old Padmaavat actor addressing the India Today Conclave South 2018 in Visakhapatnam shed light on the unwanted advances she encountered upon her entrance into the industry.

"I remember when I started, I was extra-naive because I came from a protected background. I didn’t know that the rumours were true, that things like this did happen. And honestly, I have not had such a bad time. I had one incident which actually didn’t harm me very much. But yes, I did lose work because I was given a choice - it’s either this or this. For me, it was a no-brainer. I had to walk away," she stated.

She went on to add: "I think you should speak about something only when you are ready. And when you don’t talk about it, people are like, ‘Oh, they were paid off’ or ‘oh, they were silenced.”

Moreover, the actor revealed how the injustice had affected her personally as well as in her professional life: “I did lose work and I cried about it. I didn’t regret it but I cried about it because I felt so upset that this was true and this is how girls are treated. I was like, how dare someone speak to me like that! For about eight months [after the incident] I didn’t get work, but I feel that decision made me stronger in my intention about the kind of work I wanted to do.”

“I think that everybody should do what they need to do, when they think it is right. That is what empowering a person is. This #MeToo movement is turning that on its head and taking that power away by putting these conditions and saying, ‘You must speak. If you don’t, that means you are giving in,’” she concluded.