Ever since the extremely brave Tanushree Dutta came out in the open about the sexual harassment by actor Nana Patekar and others, it has given voice and courage to a lot of women in the industry and the media, to open up and speak up about all the harassment they have gone through at different times.
Tanushree was one of the first actors I interviewed when I switched over careers to writing for a magazine. I can clearly remember how I was impressed with her intelligence, her class, the way she was calm and composed and how she had her head firmly on her shoulders. Being a woman I know how it takes immense courage to come out in the open and speak about something like that in a world where people are constantly judging you.
Even before Tanushree spoke up about harassment, the #MeToo movement did come to India but didn’t really make an impact. It si only after Tanushree boldly spoke about it that more and more women are speaking up about harassment. Recently not one, not two, but 7 Bollywood celebrities have been accused of sexual harassment or improper behaviour towards women and we’re sure there will be many more names to come!
Speaking to HotFridayTalks.com about the same, actors Anushka Sharma and Varun Dhawan spoke about how the work environment needs to be made safe for women. Anushka said, “As an individual, your workplace has to be the safest environment after your house. You have to feel safeguarded. For Tanushree to speak out and come out in the open and say those things and the fact very fact that she has done it, that is our duty to respect the woman and hear her out and not judge her. Eventually, the truth will get out but I feel we should hear her out, this would encourage women to come out and speak about it. Women will feel safe to come out and speak. Knowing how vulnerable she is, let’s all collectively work together to find a solution.”
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Varun who is known to be a gentleman too agreed to what Anushka said. “It’s important to feel safe at your workplace. You have to take care of each other, take care of people who work with us. If something like this happens on my set I would definitely go and intervene and make sure it stops,” added Varun.
While we do have people like Varun and Anushka etc.who make us believe that Bollywood is not that bad an industry as it is often said to be after all, but then on the other hand we also have people who give us reasons to believe that Bollywood is not just about glamour and glitz but has a darker side too and is full of perverts! Here are some of the Bollywood celebrities besides Nana Patekar, who has been accused of harassment and misbehaviour.
Tanushree Dutta Also Names Director Vivek Agnihotri
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Besides Nana Patekar, Tanushree Dutta also alleged that filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri behaved inappropriately towards her while shooting Horn Ok Please. However, Vivek’s lawyer but obviously denied all the allegations.
Kangana Ranaut, Former Phantom Employee, Unnamed Actress Speak Out About Vikas Bahl
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Looks like Kangana Ranaut who has been quiet for a while too found her voice after Tanushree spoke up. Kangana who worked accused her Queen director of misbehaviour. Besides Kangana, a former employee of Phantom Films, as well as an unnamed actress accused Vikas of sexual harassment. This led to Phantom Films being dissolved. Vikas was a co-owner of Phantom Films, along with Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane and Madhu Mantena. While Anurag Kashyap has been admitted to hospital much to everyone’s surprise after the allegation and after he too spoke against Vikas, Vikramaditya Motwane and Madhu Mantena too have spoken against Vikas suddenly which is surprising as they have been quiet all these years and have also allowed Vikas to direct Super 30 under their banner in spite of knowing about his character and all that they are accusing him of now!
A Female Journalist Accuses Kailash Kher
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A female journalist has accused singer Kailash Kher of harassment. She alleged that Kailash kept his hand on her thigh during an interview. Kailash however denied and is reported to have said that people who know him are aware of how much he respects humanity, especially women especially women in media!
Utsav Chakraborty Accused Of Sending Lewd Messages To Women
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Comedian Utsav Chakraborty has been accused of sending lewd messages to women and young girls and Twitter is filled with hate messages against him. Utsav tweeted; “been the exact monster I’ve been trying to fight all my life.”
Chetan Bhagat’s Behavior As Pathetic As His Books?
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Author Chetan Bhagat has been accused by a woman for indecent messages. The woman shared A WhatsApp thread where the author has written that he was trying to “woo” her. Chetan took to Facebook to post an apology and admitted that he indeed had such a conversation and apologized to the woman as well as his wife Anusha Bhagat.
Two Women Accuse Actor Rajat Kapoor Of Sexual Harassment
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Actor Rajat Kapoor has accused of sexual harassment by two women. 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.” Like Chetan Bhagat Rajat too took to social media to post an apology on Twitter saying: “All my life I have tried to be a decent man, to do the right thing. If however, I have slipped and through my actions or words caused pain or hurt or trauma to absolutely anybody, please accept my apology. 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.”
We say; Mr. Kapoor, Mr. Bhagat and the likes, the harm is already done and no amount of apology would help! An apology is not the answer to your deeds, it’s your mindset that you need to change. Is this the end to the list? Or are there more? We are yet to see!
