After Tanushree Dutta spoke about her #MeToo moment, many shocking instances have come out in the open with women saying aloud their abuse stories and accusing some of the biggest names in Bollywood. One such name was filmmaker Sajid Khan, who was accused of sexual harassment by actress Rachel White, assistant director Saloni Chopra and journalist Karishma Upadhyay. This forced many film authorities to take strict action and Indian Film & Television Directors’ Association even sent a notice to Sajid Khan asking for an explanation. While he didn’t reply at that time, now the filmmaker has finally given a response claiming all the allegations against him are untrue.
As per the reports in Bombay Times, Sajid Khan replied to IFTDA notice saying, “I apologise to IFTDA if any embarrassment has been caused to the association by the alleged accusation against me. These allegations have not only caused irreparable harm to my career, but more importantly, grieved my mother and sister immensely. At the outset, I deny the complaints levelled against me as stated in your notice. I humbly request you to not to form any one-sided judgement. I am always happy to extend any cooperation to my association.”
After receiving a response from the director, a meeting has been scheduled by IFTDA on November 1 with Sajid Khan and Internal Complaints Council. The statement of the associations said, “We have scheduled a meeting of IFTDA ICC on Thursday, November 1 at IFTDA office to hear you for the POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) Act enquiry, which is based on the principle of natural justice and the alleged harasser is provided an opportunity before any disciplinary action is taken. Therefore, attend the meeting as scheduled.”
When Sajid Khan’s name came out in the open, not just the filmmaker but his sister Farah Khan and cousin brother Farhan Akhtar also faced the heat as fans showered them with questions through social media. It was even unbelievable for many that the two didn’t know about the whereabouts of brother Sajid Khan. Just when the news about Sajid Khan broke, Farah Khan took to Twitter and wrote, “This is a heartbreaking time for my family. We have to work through some very difficult issues. If my brother has behaved in this manner he has a lot to atone for.I don’t in any way endorse this behavior and Stand in solidarity with any woman who has been hurt.”
On the other hand, Sajid Khan was even forced to step down from his current film Housefull 4 and was replaced by director Farhad Samji.
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