I was offered a car worth ₹25 lakh for ‘compromising’: Ashika Asokan

“All these were not in my wildest dreams until three years ago. I was the worst-dressed girl and my friends always made fun of me at school. It was in my second year of college that everything started. I don’t know how it happened.”

Actor Ashika Asokan. (Instagram)

The actor said social media gave her much-needed exposure. “People who have godfathers are struggling to survive in the industry these days. Then imagine the plight of people like us.”

As a beginner, Ashika Asokan faced many problems.

“Soon after I wrapped up Missing Girl, I was offered a Tamil film. The casting coordinator of the project told me that he introduced Samantha and Nayanthara to the industry. But the truth is that no one knows him which I realised later. I don’t want to reveal his name,” she said.

Ashika said the casting coordinator claimed to have a good rapport with director AC Mugil and other celebrities in the Tamil film industry. He said he is meeting director Lokesh Kanagaraj soon and would pitch her in his next.

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“No matter how educated you are, you will believe it in a second. I believed him, too and went to the shoot,” she recalled.

The movie was shot in Pollachi. At about 1-2 AM, he knocked on the door of my room to seek sexual favours. “He even offered to deliver a car worth ₹25 lakh within a month if I compromise for a couple of hours. It was mental torture,” she recollected.

 

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Mental torture

Ashika Asokan stated that she didn’t know how to react at that moment. “I didn’t feel anger but pity. I could have slapped him and walked out. But I came to the film industry to prove myself. So, I asked him to leave.”

A poster of ‘Missing Girl’. (Twitter)

But as the harassment continued, she reported the issue to the assistant directors who offered her security,” Ashika recalled.

On the last day of the shoot, the actress said, the casting coordinator visited her artist’s room and questioned why she was avoiding him.

“When he grabbed me by the arm, I hit him. As he created a scene, people present on the set too beat him. I haven’t seen him since,” Ashika added.

The actor noted that such behaviour would only affect young actors like her who devote their heart and soul to the cinema in the process of pursuing their dreams.