Popular Marathi actress Shruti Marathe has starred in a few notable Tamil films that include Indira Vizha, Naan Avanillai 2, Guru Sishyan including making a special appearance in reputed filmmaker Vasantabalan’s Aravaan.

Shruti Marathe has now opened up on a casting couch experience in an Instagram post saying she evaded the encounter by standing up to a producer during an audition where she states she was sixteen years old when the incident took place.

In the Instagram post, Shruti Marathe states, "I’ve been in this industry since I was 16 years old. Over the years I’ve been celebrated in the limelight & shamed behind the camera. People have a misconception that actors lead a comfortable life & always feel good about themselves–that’s not true. Whether we like it or not, whether we feel right or not, we have to be the best versions of ourselves. There are no ‘bad days’."

She further went on to add saying, "I remember, early on in my career, for a south film, I was asked to wear a bikini–I agreed without thinking twice. Questions like, ‘How are you going to shoot it?’ or ‘Is it required?’ didn’t even cross my mind. I was getting an opportunity to be in a film & that’s all that mattered!"

Shruti then spoke about how a bikini she had worn for a film long back became a subject of debate not long back saying, "Years later when I gained popularity in a Marathi show, people looked me up & stumbled upon the bikini scene. I was trolled for the way I looked & how it was shot. Do you know how much that damages your self-esteem? I put myself out there without any barriers–but I wasn’t accepted; I was objectified. I still continued working as if it didn’t bother me. But I had a dream. I’d worked so hard & was finally moving forward, I wasn’t going to let it go–just because someone else had a problem, they weren’t in my shoes & would never know what it felt like. Slowly, I made myself tougher."

The actress then described a personal casting couch experience where she said, "Once I met a producer who’d offered me a lead role. At first he was professional, but soon he began using the words, ‘compromise’ & ‘one night’. I couldn’t let this slip so I asked him, ‘If you want me to sleep with you, who are you making the hero sleep with?’ He was stunned. I immediately informed others of his behaviour & they asked him to leave the project."

Shruti Marathe concluded her statement saying, "All it took was one minute of being fearless–that day, I didn’t just stand up for me... I stood up for every woman who’s been objectified & judged for simply being who she is; for simply being ambitious. Why should the archaic rules of society & today's so-called modern world stop me? My clothes don’t define me–my talent does, my hard work does, my success does & I think it’s high time, people realise that."