Kunickaa Sadanand Exposes Casting Couch Horror: Producer Justified Firing with 'Hungry Lions' Analogy

Kunickaa Sadanand entered Bollywood with the dream of becoming a leading lady in the 90s. Back then, her looks were widely talked about, but she mostly ended up playing supporting and negative roles on screen. She played Reema Lagoo’s friend in Hum Saath Saath Hain and Salman Khan’s stepmother in Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya, becoming a popular choice for antagonistic characters on screen. But the journey to that stage wasn’t easy. The actress has admitted that breaking into heroine territory wasn’t easy, and she lost out on several projects because of the casting couch.In an interview with Siddharth Kannan in January 2025, Kunickaa opened up about one such incident that left her heartbroken. She revealed that she had been finalised for a big film but was removed from the project after she refused to make sexual compromises. “I went to the office to collect my signing amount, but they told me I was being replaced because I wouldn’t compromise,” she said.The actress recalled how the female producer made the decision bluntly, even using disturbing language to justify it. According to Kunickaa, the producer told her, “I am taking two hungry lions with me, so I will have to feed them a piece of flesh.” The words shocked her deeply. She admitted she broke down in tears, devastated at losing the film she had been eagerly looking forward to.Kunickaa also shared another experience from her early career, when a different producer tried to make an advance toward her in her makeup room. She firmly warned him off, after which they never worked together again.