Bharti Singh might be a famous personality today but her journey wasn’t a bed of roses. She had her fair share of struggles and has seen the lows in her life up close. She recently opened up about coming through extreme poverty, and the initial challenges she faced in the industry as a woman. 

During an interview with actor-host Maniesh Paul for his new podcast The Maniesh Paul Podcast, she revealed the horrors of being inappropriately touched by show organizers but back then, she lacked the guts and confidence to give it back or even for that matter understand their real intentions.

“The coordinators (of shows) misbehaved sometimes. They would rub their hands on the back. I would know it’s not a good feeling, but then I would think that he’s like my uncle, he can’t be bad. Maybe I am wrong and he is right. So, I thought this doesn’t feel right. I had no understanding,” she said on the podcast.

“I have the confidence to fight now, for my body, for my honour. I can now say 'what is the matter, what are you looking at? go out we are changing now'. I can speak up now, but I had no courage back then," she added.  

Many women from industry, in the past, have spoken about the ugly truth and have reflected on how casting couch has affected them mentally and shattered their confidence.

Bharti also talked about living in extreme poverty and how the family didn’t have sufficient food on a daily basis. Singh said, “Ghar jaane ka mann nahi karta tha (I didn’t feel like going home). I would stay in college with my friends and eat at the hostel. I knew once I go back, I would have to face poverty. Live in that dim light

“I have lived in that noise for 21 years. I don’t want to ever go back there. I don’t have very big dreams but I keep praying to God that I am able to sustain what I have. We have eaten salt and roti but now we have dal, sabzi, and roti. I just hope my family always has at least dal to eat. I will never want to face the situation or have my family go through that,” Singh added.

Bharti has set an example for those who are still blaming their background for not letting them grow in life. We salute you for not giving up, Bharti!

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