Vipul
Offered
Her
The
Second
Lead
In
Namaste
England
Elnaaz
told
the
tabloid,
"I
came
to
Mumbai
and
faced
a
lot
of
sh*t.
I
met
him
(Vipul
Shah)
during
[the
pre-production
of
the
film]
Namaste
England.
My
manager
informed
me
that
Parineeti
Chopra
was
playing
the
main
lead.
And
I
could
be
cast
as
the
second
lead.
Vipul
had
offered
the
role
to
Jacqueline
(Fernandes),
who
had
let
it
pass.
He
met
me,
and
I
was
surprised
that
in
the
first
(quick)
meeting
itself,
he
spoke
as
if
we
were
going
ahead
with
it
(the
offer).
"We
just
need
to
do
a
look-test,
and
sign
papers," he
said,
making
it
(contract)
sound
like
a
formality.
I
hadn't
even
auditioned
for
the
film.
It
was
weird
because
things
like
these
take
time."
'It
Was
Too
Close
For
Comfort'
"A
few
days
later,
he
made
me
do
an
audition
with
(casting
director)
Honey
Trehan,
which
wasn't
even
for
an
actual
scene.
I
woke
up
at
6
am,
reached
Versova
beach;
was
made
to
do
a
few
natural
scenes,
just
being
myself.
The
casting
director,
it
seemed
to
me,
had
not
even
been
briefed.
Vipul
got
back
saying
this
isn't
what
he
wanted.
I
met
him
again
in
his
office,
and
again
he
mentioned,
"We
will
sign
the
papers
over
the
next
couple
of
days."
This
time,
when
we
were
saying
bye,
he
came
on
to
me.
It
was
too
close
for
comfort.
I
didn't
get
the
right
vibe.
He
gave
a
peck
on
my
face.
I
didn't
expect
it.
I
called
up
my
manager
after
this
to
say,
"Vipul
is
serious.
He
wants
to
sign
the
papers.
Get
in
touch
with
him
and
go
ahead."
For
days,
I
kept
chasing
my
manager,
who
told
me
that
Vipul
wasn't
getting
back.
'This
Was
His
Way
Of
Calling
Me
To
His
Office
To
Get
Closer
To
Me'
"When
I
asked
Vipul,
he
said
he
wanted
to
conduct
another
audition.
Basically,
I
went
through
six
rounds
of
auditions
for
the
film,
and
he
made
me
feel
like
the
planet's
worst
actor.
My
confidence
was
shattered.
I
kept
feeling
like
I
was
auditioning,
and
not
cracking
the
part.
It
was
only
later
I
realised
that
this
was
his
way
of
calling
me
to
his
office,
over
and
over
again,
to
get
closer
to
me.
The
next
time
we
met
at
his
office,
he
tried
to
kiss
me.
I
backed
off,
said,
"What
are
you
doing?
We
are
in
your
office!"
I
pushed
him
away,
being
affirmative;
but
careful
enough
not
to
come
across
as
rude,
because
I
really
wanted
the
film.
Vipul
didn't
apologise,
though
I
hoped
he
had
understood
(the
point).
During
this
time,
I
had
asked
him
about
when
we
were
starting
(the
film).
He
told
me
we
would
begin
the
Punjab
schedule,
followed
by
a
London
schedule,
and
that
I
didn't
have
any
work
in
the
former,
only
the
latter.
He
wanted
me
to
get
familiar
with
(lead
actors)
Arjun
(Kapoor)
and
Parineeti
(Chopra).
So
he
told
me
that
he
would
make
sure
that
I
get
to
go
to
Punjab,
when
they
shoot
the
(film's)
first
schedule
as
well.
We
did
another
set
of
auditions.
Again,
he
said
he
needed
to
look
at
them,
see
if
he
can
do
workshops
with
me,
after
which,
I
would
be
ready
(for
the
role).
(During
this
meeting),
once
more,
he
tried
to
touch
me
inappropriately.
I
said
I
was
unwell,
and
that
I
had
to
leave.
I
left
the
country
thereafter
to
promote
a
film
of
mine.
When
I
returned,
and
got
in
touch
with
Vipul,
he
called
me
over
to
Patiala.
It
was
a
five-hour
drive
from
Amritsar.
I
did
another
audition
there,
in
his
presence.
We
were
staying
on
the
same
hotel-floor.
After
the
audition,
we
went
up
together.
I
asked
him
about
when
I
could
hear
the
(film's)
story.
He
had
always
avoided
narrating
it
thus
far.
'He
Touched
My
Butt
&
Dragged
Me
Towards
Himself'
This
time,
he
said,
"Come
to
my
room.
I
will
make
you
hear
the
script."
At
this
point,
he
touched
my
butt,
and
dragged
me
towards
himself.
I
dodged
him,
went
to
my
room,
and
sat
there
wondering
if
I
should
just
give
in.
When
I
got
a
message
from
his
assistant
to
come
down
for
dinner,
I
thought
everything
was
normal.
But
I
felt
there
was
something
weird
about
him
at
the
table.
For
two
months
after
this,
I
would
wake
up
anxiously
every
morning,
waiting
for
a
text
back
from
Vipul,
on
when
I'd
be
signing
(the
contract).
He
kept
delaying
it.
In
the
meantime,
I
had
cracked
(a
part
in
the
Netflix
series)
Sacred
Games.
They
were
keen
to
sign
me
up."
'Vipul
Kept
Asking
Me
To
Turn
Down
Sacred
Games'
"At
that
point,
I
took
the
offer
to
Vipul.
He
said
that
he
would
launch
me
in
a
big
way.
It
was
a
girl-next-door
part
in
Namaste
England,
and
that
he
was
clear
he
would
not
be
able
to
cast
me,
as
a
result
of
Sacred
Games,
and
that
I
should
skip
the
offer,
since
they
would
make
me
do
nude
scenes.
I
was
ready
to
let
go
of
Sacred
Games,
when
a
friend
of
mine
made
me
go
back
to
Phantom,
and
ask
them
what
my
scenes
were
going
to
be
like.
I
told
Vipul
that
I
had
no
(nude)
scenes
in
Sacred
Games,
and
that
I
had
read
the
script.
He
kept
asking
me
to
skip
(the
offer).
He
still
had
not
signed
a
contract
with
me
for
Namaste
England.
I
was
mentally
tortured
for
three
months.
It
was
evident
that
if
I
slept
with
Vipul,
I
would
get
the
part.
Every
time
I
went
to
his
office,
he
tried
(to
hit)
on
me.
He
(would)
inappropriately
touch
me,
and
(try
to)
kiss
me.
I
want
these
men
to
stop
doing
this,
because
they
think
they
have
enough
power
to
do
so.
He
used
my
vulnerabilities
to
ensure
that
I
give
in.
I
almost
agreed,
at
one
point
in
Patiala,
when
I
was
away
from
home
and
family.
I
could
see
that
it
was
a
big
offer.
Thankfully,
I
had
realised
that
the
part
was
way
smaller
than
how
he
was
projecting
it
(to
be).
I
wouldn't
have
been
on
posters,
and
in
songs.
I
could
have
broken
(down),
and
given
in.
I
used
the
time
to
understand
his
tactics
instead.
I
didn't
take
the
matter
to
the
police,
because
as
a
foreigner,
I
didn't
know
enough
about
my
rights.
And
I
strongly
believe
in
karma.
I
know
this
happens
to
women
everywhere,
not
just
in
Bollywood.
No
one
wants
to
jeopardise
their
jobs.
The
police
would
(probably)
laugh
at
me.
Vipul
is
a
stronger
figure.
I
am
a
foreign
national.
They
could
create
visa
issues
for
me.
I
have
had
it
hard
enough
here,
already.
So
I
was
scared.
I
was
happy
that
Sacred
Games
came
my
way,
and
I
could
pull
myself
out
of
months
of
depression
over
not
bagging
Namaste
England.
If
I
was
such
a
bad
actor,
then
how
come
they
(Phantom/Netflix)
hired
me?"
"I
Want
These
Kinds
Of
Disgusting
People
To
Stop
Misusing
Their
Power'
It's
okay
to
be
attracted
to
someone,
and
do
something
consensually.
But
this
is
coercing
someone
to
get
physical.
It
would
have
been
okay
if
he
had
approached
me
saying,
"Hey,
I
like
you,
but
film
won't
work
out."
But
this
was
his
way
of
keeping
me
hanging
in
there,
so
I
give
in,
and
he
gets
to
take
advantage
of
his
power
-
being
a
big
director.
It
(the
episode)
took
me
to
dark
places.
It
was
funny
when
his
guys
(recently)
called
me
back,
saying
they
loved
me
in
Sacred
Games,
and
wanted
me
to
do
Commando
3.
I
let
it
pass.
No
woman
should
have
to
succumb
and
submit
to
get
work.
The
only
reason
I
am
sharing
this
is
because
I
want
these
kinds
of
disgusting
people
to
stop
misusing
their
power.
There
are
many
like
Vipul.
There
shall
be
more
stories,
if
we
see
that
things
don't
change."