“They said they couldn’t afford to pay me"
Radhika Apte revealed that for her 2005 film Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi, she was refused any pay.
The Bollywood star opened up on her early days in the industry and also revealed that she felt “very exploited” on the set of Ram Gopal Varma’s Rakht Charitra.
On her experience with RGV, Radhika said:
“I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do the film. I honestly felt very exploited because I wasn’t getting paid much.
“They told me I’d be doing one film but then they made me shout in Tamil and Telugu as well. So, I was like okay, this is a lot of work and commitment.
“The film had big actors and the shoots would never start on time. I have never been desperate for work.
“So, I didn’t feel like I needed to endure long hours on the set when my time and talent wasn’t being optimised.”
Her first film experience was with Mahesh Manjrekar on Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi and she revealed that was asked to do the film for free.
“They said they couldn’t afford to pay me and asked me to do it for free.
“When on set, I realised that even the child artists were being paid.”
Radhika described the production house’s behaviour as “absolutely obnoxious”.
However, things were far better on the sets of Shor in the City.
“I auditioned with the scene in which Tilak (played by Tusshar Kapoor) asks Sapna (my character) whether she can read.
“It’s one of the very few scenes I’ve auditioned for and gotten the part, so I clearly remember it.
“It was a three-day gig with a cool pay-off of INR 72,000 (£690).”
Radhika added that she was later called back by the filmmakers “as they wanted Sapna to have a meatier part in the film”.
Radhika Apte also opened up on her nude clip leak.
She revealed she could not go out of the house for four days as her driver recognised her from it.
She said:
“When a nude clip of mine leaked, while I was filming Clean Shaven, I was trolled badly, and it did affect me.”
“I couldn’t step out of the house for four days, not because of what the media was saying but because my driver, watchman, and my stylist’s driver recognised me from the images.
“The controversial photographs were bare-skinned selfies, and anyone with a sane eye would have guessed it wasn’t me.
“I don’t think there is anything one can do, or one should do, but ignore it.
“Anything else is a waste of your time. So, when I stripped for Parched, I realised: ‘There’s nothing left for me to hide’.”
Radhika also spoke about going nude on-screen.
“Having to be nude on screen was a little intimidating. Now, I can bare it all anywhere.
“I’m proud of my body shape and size. Of course, that film went to so many places and that led to more work and appreciation.”
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