Neha Vyaso: Crafting Consent in Bollywood

Neha Vyaso is one of the most successful intimacy co-ordinator’s in Bollywood. She’s worked with some of Bollywood's biggest names - actors Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone and Konkona Sen Sharma, and directors like Hansal Mehta. Having worked on over fifty projects for clients including Netflix, Amazon and Tinder, she’s reshaping how sex and desire is shown on screen- and how it’s filmed.

We join her in a workshop with two actors, who are getting comfortable with each other, their roles, and the techniques of consent and conversation that Neha is an advocate of. As they work on the choreography of their sex scene, Neha articulates how it’s a fine balance between the demands of a script, a director's vision, a character's emotional arc, and what an actor can consent to. It is a constant, nuanced negotiation.

In Bollywood, there is much secrecy about upcoming projects but after a few false starts we finally join Neha on set. We get a glimpse at how she negotiates between the actors and the director to film a difficult scene of sexual violence. Will she succeed in creating an environment where everyone can do their work? And what does she hope her influence can have on the wider conversation about consent and intimacy in India?

Presenter: Chhavi Sachdev
Producer: Louise Morris
Executive Producer: Leonie Thomas
Sound Mix: Joel Cox

An Overcoat Media production for the BBC World Service