Never has the underbelly of Bollywood been as exposed as it is now, as horrific accounts of sexual harassment continue to spill out in the #MeToo movement. But even before, there were always whispers, says film and TV actor Susmita Mukherjee.

"I have no first-hand experience of this, but we would hear whispers [of sexual misconduct]," says Mukherjee, who explores the same dark side of the film industry in her debut novel, Mee and Juhibaby (Speaking Tiger). The book follows the journey of the eponymous protagonist, Mee, short for Meehika, a successful Bollywood actor who faces a failed marriage and a bruising rejection from a movie mogul, plunging her into a world of alcohol, promiscuity and obesity. Is there a #MeToo story in Mee's journey? "She has an extramarital affair, but it is not a #MeToo story. It was consensual," says Mukherjee.