inkaar – The Metrognome

M wonders how, despite rampant sexual harassment within it, Bollywood will address the subject in this Friday’s big film release.

Bollywood never ceases to amaze me. The Friday release this week is Inkaar (starring Arjun Rampal and Chitrangada Singh) and it delves into the subject of sexual harassment at the workplace, and how a man deals with allegations of abuse from a female colleague. I am keen to see how the film explores this issue, coming as it is from the horse’s mouth. Okay, I’ll come straight to the point.

When the Hindi film industry releases a film on sexual harassment, I want to see a disclaimer at the start of the film stating: ‘This film is not a piece of fiction and is based on real life instances from the producer/director/executive producer, etcetera’s lives. Due to the brief duration of the film, all the victims and their stories could not be covered. Viewers’ discretion is advised.’

The following is a true story.

An executive producer (EP) of a major film broadcasting house was fired and immediately hired by another broadcasting company. Like they say, one man’s dirt is another man’s treasure. Well, this guy did have loads of dirt on him. To begin with, he was fired or to put it politely, “asked to leave” because of the constant complains of sexual harassment he meted out to his female colleagues. In fact, tales of his behaviour were known to all and sundry in the industry. This didn’t stop him from doing the same at his new workplace. He believed that when you work at a film production company, you are expected to flirt a little to keep the atmosphere ‘light’.

He also believed that wearing a skirt to work makes the female colleague ‘available’ and that she’s ‘looking for some action’. So, he thought he did the right thing by constantly passing nasty remarks about their appearance and their clothes at the workplace. He even told stories about how he was popular amongst starlets, and how they sent him titillating pictures of themselves on his Blackberry Messenger.

Sometimes, he would even tell his males colleague to “go for it” and ask the superiors if they were “screwing” their subordinates (of course, the subordinates were women). He would narrate numerous stories about how, at his previous organisation, he would conduct ‘screen tests’ at hotel rooms and put the tab on the production budget. Stories about him luring young, struggling actresses and taking advantage of them were aplenty. He would drool at new faces and purposely set up meetings at the office to prove he was the alpha-male of the pack; the other men in office would wonder what they had to do to be as charming with the ladies as he was.

Of course, he also had stories of the industry to tell. The most disturbing incident he narrated was of an industry head honcho. He didn’t name the Person, but said that he was once present at a party at this Person’s house. After the guests left at around 4 am, this Person, intoxicated, walked straight into the domestic help’s room and locked the door from the inside. He stepped out of the room a few minutes later and crashed on the couch in the living room. The Person’s wife, who had watched him step in and out of the help’s room, got up, walked into her bedroom, came out with a bundle of rupee notes and when to the help’s room. She walked out again without uttering a word to anyone.

Coming back to Mr EP; he didn’t stay in the new organisation for long either. The women in the new organisation also complained to the bosses. The reason for his exit is still unclear, with most reports hinting at ‘under-performance’. In one year, Mr EP had walked all over the production house’s already non-existent work culture; he was insensitive and loathsome and everybody knew about it and tolerated it. This is exactly what perplexes me; when Bollywood turns around and makes a movie on sexual harassment. The industry that sells dreams is also known for its debauchery and immorality, and men like Mr EP reinforce the cynical view one already holds against the entire fraternity.

I am very keen to know what the filmmakers have depicted in Inkaar and how far-off or close it is to the ground realities of filmy battlegrounds. I’ll watch this one to gauge Bollywood’s point of view on the subject.

Sharp as a tack and sitting on more hot scoops than she knows what to do with, M is a media professional with an eye on entertainment.

(Picture courtesy sabhot.com)

Meet a really big loser

Hunk Sandeep Sachdev acts in films and imparts fitness training – but a few years ago, he weighed 125 kgs.

by Vrushali Lad | vrushali@themetrognome.in

Sandeep Sachdev (30) is fit and hunky, just the kind of guy who would get a film offer. Sandeep, a Malad resident, has already done films in the South, and is gearing up for his next release, Inkaar, opposite Chitrangada Singh in January 2013.

Apart from films, Sandeep is also a fitness trainer, nutritionist and motivational speaker with Fitness First. “On the days when I have no shoots or anything else happening, I work out twice a day for an hour each session. On other days, I do a 90-minute workout,” he says, explaining how he maintains his fabulous physique. “I am also careful with my diet, though I eat everything.”

But if you think his good looks and stunning body were handed to him by an indulgent God, think again. Five years ago, the present-day Sandeep was fighting to get out of a fat, 125 kg body.

Biggest Loser

Sandeep was a passionate banker who wanted to try acting, so he shifted to Mumbai from Delhi in 2003. “I loved being in Mumbai, and as bankers, we would look for every opportunity to drink and eat outside. I soon put on a lot of weight, but I didn’t do much about it till my doctor told me I had blood pressure.”

Then Sandeep heard of the show Biggest Loser Jeetega, which was anchored by actor Suniel Shetty and which had 16 participants trying to lose the most amount of weight to win. “I applied for it and they conducted a psychological and physical profile on me to see if I was fit enough to be on it. I was selected and the show became a life-changing experience for me,” he remembers.

Participants were provided with the best trainers, nutritionists and medical experts. “We would work out for four and a half hours every day, with cameras monitoring us constantly. It was difficult initially, to go from a no-exercise lifestyle to gruelling daily workouts. We were totally cut off from the world for four months – we didn’t even know what was happening with the World Cup that year.”

Sandeep says he never entered “a demotivated zone” and never let the “mind games and politics” inside the house affect him. “I put all my energies into my workouts. The show was not like Bigg Boss; here, the harder you worked, the closer you came to winning. Every week, I saw that I was losing weight and that really gave my efforts a big boost,” he explains.

He entered the show with the scales tipping at 124.9 kg, and left it at a cool 74.2 kg weight.

Had lost weight before

In 2002, when Sandeep was still at Delhi, he had lost a good amount of weight through jogging and sensible eating alone. “My brother was an actor in Mumbai, and I decided to get fit, too. I followed a no-cola, no-hard-drinks, no-fried-food diet and I would jog. Even though I was overweight, I didn’t have a negative self-image and I wasn’t embarrassed about my body.

I remember, I would jog past the Lady Irwin College every day, and these girls milling about outside would look at this chubby guy jogging past and laugh. That actually motivated me to work harder. In five months, I knocked off 25 kgs. Once I started losing weight, I would jog past the College with my middle finger raised in the air,” he laughs.

After the show

He had a few film offers after winning Biggest Loser Jeetega, but nothing materialised right away. “I still did acting classes, and started maintaining my body. I did a few music videos and ads, as well,” he says. Then he was approached by a film producer from the South, who asked if Sandeep would train and help the heroine of his project lose weight. “I worked with the girl, and in 45 days, she knocked off seven kgs. I realised I could become a fitness trainer,” he says, explaining that training others to lose weight is tricky – you can work on yourself easily, but you don’t know what will motivate someone else to work out diligently.

“I got associated with Fitness First in 2009 as a personal trainer. I now conduct the Fitness Ki Paathshaala here, and I am also a nutritionist with them,” he says.

Set realistic goals

Today, as a fitness consultant, Sandeep talks of the importance of starting small and thinking big. “People make the strangest of excuses to not exercise. They also set some really big goals right at the start. While it’s okay to have big goals, the problem is that if you don’t achieve a fitness goal soon enough, it hits twice as hard,” Sandeep says.

He adds that he gets letters from overweight people who say that they are embarrassed to step out of their homes because of their bodies. “Being overweight is nothing to be ashamed of. You have to accept the way you look. Only then can you do something about it.” The trick is to set a small goal, work slowly at first, then pick up the pace as the days pass. “It is also important to work towards achieving something that you don’t have because of your excess weight,” he explains.