“No Gender Is Safe in Tollywood, Everybody Is Screwed”

Kamakshi Bhaskarla speaks on exploitation

Kamakshi Bhaskarla is an emerging actress in Tollywood who is trying to establish herself as a credible performer. She has now opened up about casting couch, exploitation, and the misuse of the word commitment in the film industry during a recent podcast.

Kamakshi spoke about how some people with money enter the film industry with the intention of becoming producers. According to her, many of them are not filmmakers by craft but investors who see cinema mainly as a business opportunity.

She explained that this mindset can create toxic situations, especially when such individuals misuse their financial power. Kamakshi pointed out that the word commitment is often used in a distorted way in these situations. She said these investors offer a film and then ask, “Inkenti… Inkenti mari? What else?” The statement indirectly suggests that they are asking for personal favors, mostly sexual.

Kamakshi also stressed that exploitation is not limited to one gender. She said people of different genders can face such manipulative situations in the industry. “No gender is safe here, everybody in the industry is screwed,” she says.

She further explained that people who use their position to demand favors in return for opportunities often do not truly understand the creative side of filmmaking. When production is treated only as a financial transaction, the power difference can be misused. This can put people in a situation where they feel pressured to cross their personal boundaries.