Bollywood actress Tanushree Dutta, who rose to fame with her bold avatar in 2005 erotic thriller Aashiq Banaya Aapne, recently recalled of being sexually harassed at the hands of veteran actor Nana Patekar on the sets of Horn OK Please. The incident dates back to 2008 when the actress claimed that the Bollywood veteran had tried to touch her inappropriately while shooting for a song sequence.
After being accused of indecent behaviour by Tanushree, Nana, in a press conference in 2008, had denied of any wrongdoing and expressed his shock about the unexpected allegations.
"Tanushree is my daughter's age and I have no clues about what made her say such things about me. I have been a part of this film industry since the last 35 years and haven't had anyone saying such things about me ever," Nana had said,
"I was not interested in holding this press conference but was asked to do so by my producer and director as they wanted me to clarify things in the first place to avoid further confusions and to uphold my integrity," he added.
After almost 10 years, Tanushree raised the issue again through an Instagram post when she said that the #MeToo Movement won't reach India until everyone acknowledges it.
Tanushree recalled the incident in her recent interview and said that everyone in the film industry knows that Nana Patekar is abusive towards female co-actors. She also blamed actors like Akshay Kumar and Rajinikanth and said that if these actors keep working with such people, there's no hope for any movement to happen.
Soon after watching her explosive interview, Tanushree's fans lauded her for taking a stand for herself.
"It must have been very difficult reliving the trauma. It was very righteous of you to call out the perpetrators, and also all the big shots who remain a part of this bro code. All of them perpetuate the rape culture in our society. Thank you for speaking out against it. You are a hero," a fan commented on her Instagram post.
"I saw your interview on Zoom just a while back and I must say, hats off to your guts. I do recall that incident being reported back in the day but it was never given any importance and thereon we saw you slowly fade away. Never understood what happened & where you'd go, and the press would report insane things. I'm happy to see you being back today and that too this strong. Please take care & stay strong. We need a lot many people like you," another fan lauded Tanushree for speaking against sexual misconduct.
"Keep fighting against the culprits.. more power to you," another fan commented.
Nana Patekar is yet to comment on the allegations made against by Tanushree.
