Recently, Megastar Chiranjeevi commented that casting couch doesn't exist in the film industry. He suggested that the "bitter experiences" women face are their own making. "Everything depends on your behaviour. Be professional and others will be professional toward you. The film industry is like a mirror. It reflects what you are," the Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu actor noted. This was nothing but "victim-blaming", critics have opined.
Niharika Konidela, producer and Chiranjeevi's relative, has opened up about his comments. How does she view Chiru's on-stage comments as a female producer? "The term 'casting couch' has a vast meaning. The judicial meaning is multi-faceted, while the colloquial meaning alludes to forcing a woman. I think his perspective has been misconstrued. Chiranjeevi garu must have meant it in a wider sense. His remarks may have caused some sort of confusion because he made them at a public event amid noise," Niharika observed at an event on Sunday.
Niharika has offered a silly defense. It's another matter that nobody in the industry, much less a relative, can be expected to criticize someone as big as the Megastar.
