After the massive uproar of women in Hollywood against sexual assault with campaigns like MeToo and Times Up, it didn’t take long to reflect on Bollywood’s forefront as well. Actresses from the Indian film fraternity are opening up on their encounters with sexual assault that still prevails in the industry.
Recently Tanushree Dutta who has returned from US after eight years went all out in naming actor Nana Patekar for assaulting her on the sets of 2008 film ‘Horn OK Please’.
In an interview with Zoom TV, Tanushree said that Nana Patekar has as a history of assaulting women and that he is known to be rude verbally and physically on sets. But it’s not just Dutta who took up the task. Over the years actresses like Kalki Koechlin, Radhika Apte and others have also stood up against sexual harassment.
Kalki Koechlin shocked the industry when she revealed her horrifying experiences of being sexually assaulted as a child. She spoke on a news channel about her agony at the age of 9. She added that speaking out will only help give confidence to others to come forward and fight.
A while ago ‘Veere Di Wedding’ actress Swara Bhasker also narrated about her sexual harassment encounter with a drunk director and how she was stalked in a shoot. “He stalked me during the day and called me through the night. I was asked to go to his hotel room on the pretext of discussing the scene and would find him drinking. During the first week itself, he started talking about love and sex and one night, arrived in my room, drunk, and asked to be hugged. It was scary.”
On another front, ‘Ghoul’ actress Radhika Apte said in her interview with BBC reporter Rajini Vaidyanathan on the fact that those who dare to speak out face shame and the possible loss of a career.
“Some people are regarded as gods,” Apte explained. “They are so powerful that people just don’t think that my voice is going to matter. People think, ‘If I speak, my career will probably get ruined.’”
Speaking on the MeToo movement, “[I loved] the way the women, and the men, of course, came together and decided that as a team we’re not going to let this happen,” said Apte. “I wish that could happen here.”
At a book launch, ‘Queen’ actress Kangana Ranaut spoke her heart out on the time she was allegedly physically abused by Aditya Pancholi during her early days. She went on to say in ‘Aap Ki Adalat’ that it was the cops who saved her back then.
