MeToo In Bollywood: Producer Pahlaj Nihalani Accused Of Mental Abuse; Asked To 'Compromise', Says Niki Aneja

MeToo In Bollywood: MeToo movement has exposed many biggies from the entertainment industry earlier which has shocked many people. Now, television actress Niki Aneja has come forward and shared her story of being abused by producer former CBFC chairperson, Pahlaj Nihalani. Niki not only accused Pahlaj of mentally abusing her but also revealed how she was asked to 'compromise' in order to fit in during her debut film, Azaad, while talking to Siddharth Kanan.

Pahlaj Nihalani Accused Of Mental Abuse By Niki Aneja

Claiming that she was mentally tortured on the set, Niki also revealed how she was advised to do 'compromise' and have dinners with distributors, she said, "I felt very uncomfortable. I wasn't treated nicely during Azaad. Newcomer aside, I realised there is more to acting than what people said. Ye jo casting couch hai, 'Compromise kar lo kya problem hai... aapki journey jaldi ho jayegi...' when people talk about these things around you, I don't resonate with them. I want to wake up and respect who I see in the mirror. Whatever I learnt technically during that shoot is my wealth but what I learnt on the outside of shoot, during rehearsals and promotions, I understood that all these things I can't do. I was only 19 at that time."

Niki also accused Pahlaj of justifying his deeds, she revealed, "I actually went and told Pahlaj ji why do you take me for these dinners... And he told me 'Picture nahi bechni hai kya?' I remember asking just one thing to him, 'Anil Kapoor ko sign kar ke aap picture nahi bech sakte kya?' From that day, I became infamous on the sets. It was not pleasant for me. It was then I decided I will not do films after Yes Boss, because I had signed the film by then. But Shah Rukh Khan was the opposite and Ratan ji's set was very different."

Niki's film also starred Anil Kapoor in the lead role. She rose to fame for shows like Astitva...Ek Prem Kahani and Ghar Ek Sapna.