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In the last few years, there has been a lot of change in the shooting of intimate scenes in the world of Bollywood and OTT. Whereas earlier such scenes were shot without any fixed procedure, now utmost importance has been given to the safety, consent and comfort of the artists. Do you know that there are people to co-ordinate sex scenes in films? Aastha Khanna is India's first intimacy co-ordinator, who introduced a completely new profession in the film industry. Today his work in many big projects has become a new standard for the industry.

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What is the work of an intimacy coordinator?

Intimacy co-ordinator is a professional who gets the shooting of intimate and romantic scenes in films, web series or shows done in a safe and organized manner. The main objective of this profession is:-

• ensuring artist consent
• setting boundaries while shooting
• choreographing the scene
• Making artists feel mentally and physically comfortable

This role already existed in Hollywood, but it was introduced in India in recent years.

Who is Aastha Khanna?

Aastha Khanna is considered to be India's first intimacy co-ordinator. He worked seriously to establish this profession in the Indian entertainment industry. According to reports, he has professionally designed intimate scenes in many films and OTT projects with artists and makers. After the increasing influence of OTT platforms in India, bold and emotional content in films and web series increased rapidly. With this, the industry became more sensitive regarding the safety and consent of the artists. This is where the need for intimacy co-ordinators started being felt and the importance of professionals like Aastha Khanna increased.

Study abroad, old love for cinema

According to reports, Aastha Khanna was born and brought up in India. He was interested in films and visual storytelling since childhood. He studied film and TV production from the University of York, UK. He then worked on several production projects in India, the UK and South-East Asia. Before becoming Intimacy Co-ordinator, she had been a part of the production and direction team of many films. He has worked on projects like Andhadhun, Gahariyaan.

How did Aastha Khanna get this unique career?

In an interview, Aastha Khanna had told that she had read an article on intimacy co-ordinators in western countries and from there she got the inspiration to enter this field. “I read an article on intimacy co-ordinators in the West. That article impressed me deeply,” she said. After this, he started this profession in India by taking training at international level. Aastha Khanna had told in an interview, "I have neither come to condemn anything nor to ban anyone. My job is only to make intimacy safe on the set." He also said that while shooting intimate scenes, the mental and physical safety of the artists is of utmost importance.

How does Aastha Khanna work on the sets?

Aastha Khanna talks with the actors in advance, sets boundaries and choreographs the entire scene. In a conversation about the Netflix series 'Class' in 2023, Aastha Khanna had told Film Companion that many technical things and prosthetics are used to make the intimate scenes look real. He had said, “Artists should never shoot completely nude.” While sharing his experience of old sets, he also said that sometimes scenes were changed even without the consent of the artists.

Gives priority to the safety and comfort of artists

Sometimes actors may feel uncomfortable while shooting intimate scenes. In such a situation, the intimacy co-ordinator ensures that:-

• No scene should be shot without consent
• Artists should not be pressurized
• Camera angle and movement are predetermined
• Limited number of people should be present on the shooting set

Now this profession is becoming an important part of the Indian film industry. Earlier, very few people knew about this type of role in India. But now even big banners and OTT platforms have started considering intimacy co-ordination as a professional requirement.

I am not a sex police: Aastha Khanna

In an interview given to Times of India in 2021, Aastha had said, “I am not a sex police, my job is only to make sex safe on the sets.” He also told that a system like intimacy co-ordination did not exist in India earlier, so he took training from the Intimacy Professionals Association of America. In the same conversation, he had said about the consent and limitations of artists, "Consent can be changed at any time. An artist should always have the right to say 'no'."