People like Harvey Weinstein will exist everywhere: Kriti Kharbanda

By Sugandha Rawal

New Delhi, Nov 3 (IANS) Kriti Kharbanda feels people like disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein will exist everywhere -- be it the corporate world or the entertainment industry. But the actress says "sleeping around with people" is not the way to go to make dreams come true.

She also asserted that people always have the power to say "no" to wipe out such a menace.

"I feel that bad people exist everywhere. I've always maintained that it is not the industry that is good or bad, it's the people. People like Harvey will exist everywhere, be it the corporate world or the entertainment industry. Don't be naive and allow a man to take advantage of you," Kriti told IANS in an email interview.

"If sleeping around with people is the way dreams come true, then the entire world would choose this as an option. Honestly, it is probably the easiest way of doing it. Please don't fall for crap. People like him (Harvey) will cease to exist the second you stop giving in to them. Nevertheless, people like him should be punished," she added.

Be it Bollywood or Hollywood, many people from the entertainment world are debating how men in power take sexual advantage of women in exchange for taking forward their dream of making it big in showbiz.

It all started when a foreign media house published a story revealing numerous accusations of sexual harassment against Hollywood mogul Weinstein. Since then many have come out in the open to talk about sexual advances from big names like Kevin Spacey, James Toback, Ben Affleck, Brett Ratner and Dustin Hoffman.

Does she think women are vulnerable in Bollywood?

"I think women or human beings for that matter are vulnerable. It's your vulnerability that makes you beautiful and stronger in your own way. Because then you're more accepting to newer things.

"If you're not vulnerable and you're too headstrong and clear about the path you want to take, it won't help you grow. Vulnerability doesn't have to be a negative thing. If you take the right spin on it, it can be extremely positive," Kriti pointed out.

Kriti has worked in Kannada, Telugu and Hindi films. She made her acting debut with the Telugu film "Boni" in 2009, and featured in "Raaz: Reboot" and "Guest Iin London".

She will next be seen alongside Rajkummar Rao in "Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana", set for release on November 10.

Talking about the film, she said: "I'm beyond excited for 'Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana'. It is my most passionate project till date. I feel nothing but love for the characters of this film altogether. It has introduced me to some great relationships which will last me a lifetime. The script entirely convinced me to say yes to the project. "

Directed by Ratna Sinha, the film is penned by Kamal Pande and has been shot in Lucknow and Allahabad.

Its story rises from the cultural and traditional roots of Uttar Pradesh, and is about two ordinary middle-class people, Satyendra Mishra and Aarti Shukla, who are soon to be bound in matrimony. But Satyendra is left alone at the altar as Aarti decides to pursue her dreams.

Five years later, they cross paths and the story takes an interesting turn when Satyendra, now an IAS officer, has been assigned the case of framed PCS officer Aarti.

Kriti says she still remembers reading the script, calling her agent and asking the agent not to negotiate the money because it's a film she did not want to lose out on.

"I love it irrespective of what happens post its release. It's the first time, I have done a film not thinking about the future. I'm self-satisfied and that's the only thing that matters."

She is also working on "Veere Ki Wedding" with Pulkit Samrat.

"One Kannada film and 'Yamla Pagla Deewana Phirse' (with the Deols), I'm extremely excited about. I play a Gujarati girl in that film. I think it will be fun to see Gujarati-Punjabi tadka come together," added the actress.

(Sugandha Rawal can be contacted at sugandha.r@ians.in)