Nithya Menen: Bad behaviour isn't restricted to film industry

Panaji: Actress Nithya Menen has been working in films for over a decade now, and she saus she never felt "unsafe". She adds that she has faced bad behaviour but that's not limited to the film industry.

At the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa, on Thursday, Nithya was asked about her film journey and to comment on the general impression that women in the film industry are not safe -- especially aspiring actresses.

"You are as safe as you allow yourself to be. Nobody forces anything on you unless you make it happen. It has never happened to me that I felt unsafe. I have definitely seen bad behaviour and I have called them out. I have said 'Don't you have respect? or 'Don't do that'. Bad behaviour is everywhere, not just in the film industry," said Nithya.

"You can decide what you want to do, how much you want or don't want to compromise. You are not helpless," she added.

The "Mission Mangal" actress also spoke about how cinema happened by chance.

"I got into films accidentally. I wanted to be in the forest, around animals and make films on them. However, very recently I started to develop an incredible love for cinema. What a beautiful medium this is! It lets me make something that can change the emotional state of people. Maybe, this is what arranged marriage feels like," she quipped.

Acting came naturally to her.

"It has always been so natural and easy. Nothing was a challenge to me. I realised this is what I am best at doing. It was truly effortless," said the actress, who has starred in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi movies.

In fact, she calls herself a spontaneous actor.

"I cannot be directed too much. If you over-instruct me, you will mess it up. I am not a method actor. I am spontaneous," said Nithya.

Going back to the time when she was shooting for the 2015 film "OK Kanmani", she shared: "During 'OK Kanmani', Mani (Ratnam) sir would not instruct me much. For a long time I thought Mani sir didn't like my performance."

But later, she realised that he found her performance "good".