casting couch

it exists. i have felt its presence in mumbai, thankfully nothing was inflicted upon me nor was i an aggressor. but then, i was in mumbai for just one and a half years and the only film i was associated with, bombed. but, here, in delhi, i have been fairly successful in television and i am in a position to hire anchors/actors/producers etc. the casting couch exists here as well. a lot more 'in you face' than bollywood. and it is scary, and very tempting. let me explain. i used to work with india's second most watched news channel as a creative consultant. which meant my opinion mattered when it came to finalising new shows and concepts. it also meant meeting and interviewing a lot of aspiring anchors and actors. now, if i really want to have sex with a 21 year old girl from meerut, who really wants to be on tv, i can. because she knows that i can recommend her to my boss, who trusts my judgment and will hire her, it will be really easy. all i need to do is to tell the girl that it might work, how about meeting for dinner, so that i can explain her the show, huh?? i'll tell you why it is scary. these girls ARE ready to sleep with anyone to be on tv!! and i mean anyone.
i have never tried it, but my colleagues tell me that it works, every time.
sounds simple, doesn't it? but noooooooooo!!!!!! it is really tough. you have to be extremely insensitive, border on obnoxious perversion and be so sexually frustrated that it really hurts, to do that. and if you don't have any of the above mentioned psychological problems, you can't do it. period.
but it is tempting. i met this 22 year old girl, a*****, who wanted to be an anchor on national television. she is 5'4'', fair and very good looking and had come for an audition. actually, the truth is, i had spoken to her on the phone and she sounded very...ummm..hmmmmmm.....well, sexy. so, i had called her on a day when no one else was scheduled for audition. the moment she walked in and said hello, shantanu, i was enamoured. i got this warm, fuzzy feeling in my.....everywhere. throughout the audition, i couln't take my eyes off her. during the audition, she expressed a desire to change her outfit, and she asked if i could help her decide what to wear. the next ten minutes, when i was in the make up room with her, were the most painful moments of my life. i think you know why. if you don't, try talking about the price of bhindi while watching basic instinct, you'll know what i am talking about.
she wasn't hired. her audition looked like osama's attempt at stand up comedy. and i didn't help her, despite the fact that she set my loins on fire.
so, the entire idea of casting couch is, as i said, scary and tempting at the same time. so what do i do? i just look at these girls, feel happy for a while, gloat over the fact that i can probably sleep with a lot of beautiful women, even if they won't really like to sleep with me, and then i realise that it is because of what i do, and not becuase who i am, and i suddenly shrivel and call someone who really likes me for who i am or sometimes i am at peace with this vital piece of information about the wonderful world we inhabit.