Sushant Singh Rajput’s untimely demise has sparked outsiders vs insiders debate in Bollywood prompting celebrities to introspect on why outsiders find it so hard to get a foothold into the industry. Actress Mahima Chaudhry, who made her acting debut with Pardes (1997) opposite Shah Rukh Khan alleges that filmmaker Subash Ghai bullied her in the past. She claims that if she was from the industry, she wouldn’t have been bullied so much.
Talking to Bollywood Hungama, she said, “I was bullied by Mr Subhash Ghai. He even took me to the court and wanted me to cancel my first show. It was quite stressful. He sent a message to all the producers that nobody should work with me!”
“If you pick up one of the issues of Trade Guide magazine in 1998 or 1999, there was an ad that he had given which stated that if anybody wanted to work with me, that person would have to contact him. Otherwise, it would be a breach of contract. However, there was no such contract which said that I had to seek his permission,” added Mahima.
The actress says that it was only four people from the industry, Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt, David Dhawan and Rajkumar Santoshi who supported her. “They all told me to stay strong. David Dhawan called and told me that, ‘Don’t worry and don’t let him bully you.’ Apart from these four people, I didn’t receive a call from anyone else,” Mahima told the portal.
However, she lost on some projects. Mahima claims that she was to star in 1998 film Satya but was replaced by Urmila Matondkar. It was supposed to be her second film and she had signed the signing amount. However, without any information film’s director, Ram Gopal Varma, replaced her and began shooting with Mantodkar.
Talking about being bullied in the industry she said, “I am sure if I was from the industry, I wouldn’t have been bullied so much. But you have to stand up and fight.”
