Moushumi Chatterjee reveals she's slapped some of her 'sexist' co-stars: 'They deserved it'

Veteran actress Moushumi Chatterjee, known for her outspoken personality, recently opened up about her experiences with misbehaving male co-stars in the film industry.


Slapping heroes
In an interview with Screen, the actress shared stories from her earlier days when she didn’t hesitate to slap her co-stars if they crossed the line. "They deserved it, they were sexist," she said, reflecting on the behavior of male leads who expected heroines to reciprocate their flirtations. Moushumi explained that the men were often raised in an environment where they were pampered by mothers, wives, and sisters, and therefore didn't understand boundaries in their interactions with women.


Uncompromising Dignity: The cost of speaking out
Moushumi also spoke about the personal cost of maintaining her dignity in an industry often driven by egos. "I lost a lot of roles as I wouldn’t pander to anyone’s ego," she revealed, touching on the challenges she faced. Her refusal to compromise her values and dignity meant she missed out on several roles, including a notable one in Gulzar's Koshish, which was later offered to Jaya Bachchan. Despite this setback, Moushumi highlighted her reconciliation with Gulzar years later, where they worked together in Angoor with actor Sanjeev Kumar, who had been her hero in Koshish as well.


A recent return: Moushumi's latest project
Though she has seen her fair share of challenges, Moushumi continues to keep a strong presence in the industry. Her most recent appearance was in the Bengali film Aari, which was released earlier this year and marked her return to Bengali cinema after along gap of 12 years. The movie was directed by Jiit Chakraborty.