Exclusive! Ankit Siwach opens up on facing casting couch: Was asked to send pictures without clothes; felt like giving up

While actor Ankit Siwach started his career on TV in 2017, his modeling career in Delhi began 12 years ago. “I quit modeling in four months after I saw what the world was all about. I wasn’t allowed to use my brain, I wasn’t allowed to speak. I was just a good looking boy who would wear clothes and get clicked,” Siwach recalls.

He admits Meerut to Delhi was a “culture shock” for him. “I always used to think everyone is a good human. But that becomes your weakness and anyone can take advantage of you. You think that everyone has demons and you can ignore them, but those demons just chew you up and throw you out. And I’ve faced that during modeling. There were instances when I was asked to send pictures without clothes. I was asked to come to parties that weren’t related to work. It was almost harassment as I wasn’t prepared for it,” Siwach shares.

However, he believes Delhi prepared him for the “bigger battle” that the city of dreams, Mumbai, was going to bring for him. “There have been a lot of times when I felt like giving up because of these situations. I was giving it my all. When you get to see people who are standing there like vultures – they want to eat you up, you tend to break down, you want to quit and go back. I’ve been through a lot of mental issues (because of this). I broke down. (But) I’ve also worked in corporate and I think it’s human nature for those who are in power to exploit others. It’s in every industry. You cannot avoid them, you have to meet them. I’ve faced a lot of proposals, and hints and people have also been direct, in terms of compromising if not for work then to make a career. I’ve been given examples of several actors. ‘You think you can make it big without compromising,’ is what many say. Nobody forces anyone,” Siwach explains.

Cut him and ask if he has ever been forced, and Siwach denies anything physical however, reveals being forced emotionally. “When I was 18-19, at the start of my career, they (predators) tried to manipulate me. I was forced emotionally and made to believe it (compromising) is the only way to make it happen. After coming to Mumbai, it didn’t happen.”