Radhika Apte Drops Shocking Claims About South Filmmakers

Radhika Apte , known for her fearless choice of roles and strong performances, recently opened up about a deeply disturbing phase from the early days of her career. In a conversation that has now gone viral, the actor spoke candidly about the sexism and emotional trauma she experienced while working in South Indian films in the late 2000s.

Revisiting A Painful Chapter

During a conversation with Divyenndu Sharma for Creator x Creator by The Indian Express, Apte reflected on the circumstances that led her to take up certain roles. She admitted that she accepted those projects mainly because she “really needed money,” but said the personal cost of those experiences was far greater than she had anticipated.

Recalling one particularly unsettling incident, Apte described being the only woman on a set dominated entirely by men in a small town. She revealed how her appearance became a subject of discussion on set.
“They wanted to add more padding on my bums and breasts. They were like, ‘Amma, more padding!’ I said, ‘How much more padding? How much rounder would you make somebody?’”

Choosing To Speak Up


Uncomfortable and angered by the demand, Apte said she decided to push back.
“I was like, I literally had to get that assistant saying that, is your mother, sister, how much padding? Like, how much more? How much will you put, how much rounder will you make somebody? So I said that, tell director, no padding.”

She also spoke about how powerless she felt in that environment, realising she had no professional support around her.
“And then I looked around. I was the only woman, I had no manager, I had no agent. My team was all men because they had given me, they were like, no, you are not allowed to get your own team. And that was the first time I realised, my goodness, there's literally, and I'm not kidding.”

‘It Was Actually Traumatic’



The aftermath of the experience left a lasting emotional scar.

“I never, ever want to be put in that situation again because I’ll cry. It was actually traumatic,” Apte said, describing how vulnerable and isolated she felt.

She also spoke about the difficulty of aligning with people in the industry when their values remain unclear.
“There are so many women in such powerful positions who can make the change, but they won’t. And I find that deeply disturbing,” she added.

Current Work


On the professional front, Apte was recently seen in Saali Mohabbat , a mystery thriller directed by Tisca Chopra. The film features her as Smita, a small-town housewife whose life spirals after she gets caught in a complex web of lies and double murder. Divyenndu Sharma plays Ratan Pandit, with Anurag Kashyap, Sharat Saxena and Kusha Kapila also in key roles. The film is currently streaming on Zee5, having released on December 12.