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Male model exposes gay Bollywood
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/919_244339,001800010001.htm


Khalid M Ansari

NEW DELHI, May 1


Gender discrimination is passé in Bollywood - both men and women are subject to  the casting couch, says supermodel-turned-struggling actor Marc
Robinson.

Man-management skills could in fact be helping a majority of male models to boost their sagging careers in tinsletown, he alleges. "There are certain directors and producers who have a taste for eligible companions of  the same sex. With sexuality being seen as a matter of choice, such liaisons are far more acceptable today than they were just a few years ago. Though industry bigwigs like Shahrukh Khan, Karan Johar, Mahesh Manjrekar and Sanjay Leela Bhansali may still shy away from publicly acknowledging the fact, their proximity to male friends is common knowledge", says the 35-year-old hunk who made his mark with a steamy campaign for Kama Sutra condoms.

His disastrous big screen debut in 'Bada Din' has not left him frustrated with his filmi  career (or the absence of it), insists Robinson. According to him:
"I'm not in the habit of making wild allegations about the sexual orientation of other people. Every word of what I have said is true and can be verified from independent sources."

Despite the brave front, there's a note of bitterness when he admits that refusal to enter into 'male bonding' may have cost him dear. "In my own case, I was happy modelling when a film was offered to me. The project appeared interesting and I decided to give it a try. Sadly it took time for me to realize that Bollywood is full of hypocrites and talent alone does not guarantee success. All said and done, I am not a man who is comfortable
rendering sexual favours to other men for a shot at stardom", he says.

While not all male actors enter into same-sex relationships willingly, the rewards far outweigh the risks involved and in time they may even grow to like
it, quips Marc. According to the man who claims to be a die-hard fan of veteran Hollywood star Robert De Niro: "Beggars can't be choosers. It's the
classic Stockholm Syndrome - given enough time you fall in love with your circumstances, no matter how impossible that may have seemed at the start. Were it  not so, same-sex associations would not have become this common in the industry. Call it what you want - a 'session of better understanding' or 'collective crew discussions' - the fact remains that Bollywood men have a penchant for their own kind. But that does not deter them from playing court to their wives. After all in a world of make-believe, appearances are everything."