#MeToo: 10 Indian Personalities accused of sexual harassment

The #MeToo fire took over Bollywood like a wild storm. From renowned actors to filmmakers, many celebrities have been accused of sexual misconduct. It all started when former Bollywood actress Tanushree Dutta opened up about her story and accused veteran Bollywood actor Nana Patekar of sexual harassment during the filming of her 2008 film Horn Ok Please. While the incident was a decade old, it gave strength to many more voices who came forward with their #METoo stories and found the courage to fight for themselves. On Saturday actress Payal Ghosh accused Anurag Kashyap of sexually harassing her.

Recently, during the promotion of her film Helicopter Eela, Kajol rightly said, "To take away the shame and embarrassment that people feel over an incident which happened in their lives, that exactly is what I think happened with this particular movement." From singer Kailash Kher to filmmaker Vikas Bahl and renowned actor Alok Nath, many names have popped up in the recent past who have been accused of sexual harassment. Here are 10 Indian personalities who have accused to sexual harassment. Have a look!

Alok Nath

A veteran writer-producer of the avant-garde 1990s' show Tara fame, accused actor Alok Nath -- known for his "sanskaari" on-screen image -- of sexually violating her almost two decades ago. "I have waited for this moment to come for 19 years," She wrote in a long, heart-wrenching Facebook post, referring to the "predator in question" as "the actor par excellence who is known as the most 'sanskaari' (cultured) person in the film and television industry".

Her suggestive remarks like "sanskaari" and that the person concerned was the "lead actor" and a "television star of that decade" were good enough to make out that the Producer was indeed pointing the finger at Alok Nath. Later, in an interview, she even confirmed that the person mentioned in her post is Alok Nath. After her allegations, few more women came forward and accused the actor harassing them. One is Tara’s lead actress Navneet Nishan, other is actress Sandhya Mridul. Another anonymous crew member has accused Alok Nath of sexual misconduct on the sets of the movie Hum Saath Saath Hain.

Nana Patekar

In an interview with Zoom TV, Tanushree Dutta came out in open about her #METoo story and accused veteran Bollywood actor Nana Patekar of sexual misconduct on the sets of their 2008 movie Horn Ok Please. The actress even said that Nana Patekar has a history of assaulting women. She said that people in the industry know that the actor is rude to women and has beaten them on the sets. She said, "Everyone knows about Nana Patekar that he has always been disrespectful towards women. People in the industry know about this and that he has beaten actresses, he has molested them, his behaviour with women has always been crude but no publication has printed anything about it.

In response, Nana Patekar said, "What can I say why she is saying it? How do I know why she is saying this? What does she mean by sexual harassment? There were 50-100 people on the set with me. I'll take legal action against her.”

The complaint was filed in October 2018 and the investigation was closed on June 13, 2019. Reportedly, the magistrate also called the case "maliciously false".

 

Varun Grover

A former woman student of IIT-BHU, claimed that Masaan co-writer Varun Grover sexually harassed her back in 2001. In a detailed post, a woman alleged that Grover held her up inappropriately while practising for a play.

In a screenshot of the post, that has been doing the rounds on social media, the woman said the incident happened in 2001 while they were working on a play for the annual festival. The "Sacred Games" writer said the screenshot was "untrue" and "misleading". He also issued a detailed statement on the entire matter, explaining his stand on the allegations put by the anonymous woman.

(Read full story here)

Gaurang Doshi

Flora Saini who played the silent villain or ghost in the movie Stree, in a long Facebook post opened about the terrors she went through in 2007 when she was dating popular producer Gaurang Doshi. She shared her pictures after the abuse and posted a statement detailing her ordeal. She wrote, " That's me.. Valentine's day 2007 beaten up by a known producer ‘Gaurang Doshi' who I loved n was dating then .. this was the last of the one year abuse I took..came out with a fractured jaw n a scarred soul for life..”

She further stated, “I realised me talking about it ,that time, jus went against me ,cos he was the powerful one n nobody wanted to believe some girl who was relatively new in the industry, it was his word against mine ,and of course, his word mattered. He threatened me that he will make sure I never work in the industry again n much more.. n he did his best to make me believe it too.. I was replaced in films, people didn't quiet wanna even meet me or let me audition”

Vivek Agnihotri

Tanushree Dutta in an interview with DNA claimed that not just Nana Patekar but director Vivek Agnihotri also sexually harassed her. She revealed that Vivek allegedly asked her to strip and dance earlier during the shooting of a song. Vivek also came out with stating his side, and denied that he has ever asked actress Tanushree for any improper action after she claimed that the filmmaker wanted her to remove her clothes and dance during the shooting of a song.

(Read full story here)

Vikas Bahl 

A woman, who worked at Phantom Films, alleged that the filmmaker Vikas Bahl sexually assaulted her at her hotel room in Goa. Bahl was one of the partners among Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane and Madhu Mantena at Phantom Films. In a recent article in Huffpost India, the woman has reiterated the allegations, sharing further details about the incident. According to the report, in October 2015, the woman reached out to Kashyap and detailed her experience, but no action was taken while Bahl continued to harass her until she finally quit the company.

After these allegations, actress Kangana Ranaut also voiced out her #MeToo story and revealed that her Queen director Vikas Bahl made her uncomfortable many times. She said, "Every time we met, socially greeted and hugged each other, he'd bury his face in my neck, hold me really tight and breathe in the smell of my hair. It took me great amount of strength and effort to pull myself out of his embrace. He'd say 'I love how you smell K'. I could tell something is wrong with him". 

Vikas was given clean chit after the complainant did not appear before the internal investigating committee. 

Utsav Chakraborty

A woman came forward with a story about Mumbai based comedian Utsav Chakraborty that he sent his unsolicited nude pictures, opening a floodgate of similar accusations against the writer-YouTuber.  He was the former employee of AIB that led to a storm on social media.

(Read full story here)

Chetan Bhagat

An anonymous woman claimed that celebrated author Chetan Bhagat has tried to harass her. Screenshots of Chetan Bhagat’s conversation with an anonymous woman went viral in which the author is seen showing advances to the woman even when he is married. Accepting that the viral screenshots are indeed real, Chetan Bhagat wrote a long post on Facebook and said he was “really sorry”. The conversation was shared on Twitter by a multimedia journalist, who has been collecting various stories of women. According to the conversation seen on the screenshot, Bhagat is seen saying, “You are sweet and cute and funny and a nice human being. So I have decided to woo you. [sic]”

Later, the author took to Facebook to issue an apology to the lady as well his wife. He wrote, “I am really sorry to person concerned. The screenshots are of course real, and I am sorry if you felt they were wrong I hope you will accept my apology.” He further stated that the conversation is several years old and he felt a connection with the lady which is why he flirted with her.

(Read full story here)

Rajat Kapoor 

Actor Rajat Kapoor has been called out for alleged sexual harassment on Twitter with two women accusing him of inappropriate behaviour. One journalist shared details of a telephonic interview in which Mr Kapoor allegedly asked her if she was "As sexy as she sounds" and "tell me your vital stats."  

Kapoor then took to Twitter to issue an apology, saying he has tried to be a decent man all his life."If however, I have slipped and through my actions or words caused pain or hurt or trauma to absolutely anybody. I am sorry from the bottom of my heart - and sad that I was the cause of this hurt to another human being. If there is one thing more important to me than even my work, it is to be a good human being. And I have tried to be that person. And now, I will try harder,"

(Read full story here)

Kailash Kher

A female journalist accused celebrated singer Kailash Kher of harassment but he said he was neither aware nor remembers the incident. The journalist said: "This creep kept his hand on my thigh." In his defense, Kailash said: "For all those who know me and have come across me, will know how much I respect humanity, especially women, even more for the ones who work in media since their work is difficult."

 

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