Rupali Ganguly Reveals Leaving Bollywood Due To Casting Couch: “Had Promised My Father That I Won’t Ever Lose My Dignity”
The actress in a recent interview went down memory lane and recalled how she bagged her first show despite being the daughter of filmmaker Anil Ganguly.
Rupali Ganguly Recalls How She Landed Her First Role & Facing Casting Couch(Pic Credit: Instagram)
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After being away from the limelight for a long time, Rupali Ganguly has shown how great an actor she is, as her come-back daily soap – Anupamaa is very much popular among the audience and her skills have been getting a lot of appreciation. However, the actress in a recent interview went down memory lane and recalled how she bagged her first show despite being the daughter of filmmaker Anil Ganguly. She also talks about her reason for leaving the Bollywood industry and blames the casting couch for the same.
The actress entered the industry with a few shows, but it was Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, where she played the character of Monisha Sarabhai, which helped her become a known star. Later she went on to do some hit TV shows and currently she’s impressing everyone with her role in the Star Plus show.
Recently, Rupali Ganguly sat for an interview with ETimes, where she opened up about her struggling days and how she landed her first role. Interestingly, her first show ‘Dil Hai Ke Maanta Nahi’ was with Anupamaa producer Rajan Shahi itself. She now recalls walking from Worli to Andheri for the audition because she didn’t have enough money to buy bus tickets. She said, “I did everything that came my way like ads, catalogue shoots. I remember when I had come to audition for Rajan’s show at that time he had made a pilot with some other actress in 1999 and she wanted to do films. So Rajan’s show was approved, they had a time slot but they didn’t have their lead actress.”
Rupali Ganguly further explained, “I remember I came walking from Worli to Andheri for the audition because I didn’t have money to buy bus tickets. I was so tired by the time I reached that I just auditioned. I had that one chance and I goofed up and felt terrible. Then I heard someone discussing the storyline that it is a double role. I got very excited. I went back to Rajan Shahi and requested him to give me one more chance.”
“He was very reluctant but I pushed him. He called me the next day and again I had to walk back. I came to Juhu and took a bus from there the next day. Next day, I came back and I auditioned. He gave me the first scene and then he asked me to do six scenes back to back. The rest is history. I started my journey from there on,” the Anupamaa actress added.
Rupali Ganguly also talks about facing the casting couch saying that this was the sole reason she left her Bollywood career. Although she had a film background but she had also promised her father she won’t lose her dignity. Later when the actress left the entertainment industry she took up hotel management but at the same time, she also did plays.
“I had to also support my family so I had to work as papa was not keeping well. I worked in boutiques, I was working as a waiter through my catering college. I would get Rs 180 an hour. I was constantly working and doing different jobs. I would also do plays but I didn’t get anything in terms of money,” she concluded.
