Actress Tanushree Dutta alleged that Nana Patekar harassed her while shooting for a film Horn 'Ok' Pleassss in 2008. She opted out of the film because of Nana's misbehaviour. Tanushree spoke to NDTV about the incident and the harassment that followed. She also explained why actresses don't come out and talk about such cases. Speaking to news agency ANI on Wednesday, the actress also named choreographer Ganesh Acharya as part of her allegations. Here's what she told NDTV:
Q: You spoke about an incident on a movie set with your then co-actor Nana Patekar that happened many years ago. This is a huge allegation that you are making. What made you come out now to talk about this?
Tanushree: Well, I have been speaking about it for the last ten years. I want to say one thing, this is an allegation, this is not huge. It's happening rampantly everywhere. A lot of people are getting away with harassment. It's not huge. It's time to make this dialogue normal. Yes, this bugger troubled me, let's go after him. Let's make sure he doesn't do it again. Ten years back this was a taboo topic.
Q: So what you are saying is that ten years ago the narrative was different, now with the #MeToo movement, you think your story is getting the importance. Is it because of the changing times?
Tanushree: It's better now. Some people are still functioning in the older ways. When a woman speaks she is claiming but when a man speaks he is saying. This is the reason why a lot of women don't come forward because they don't want to be the girl who is claiming harassment.
Q: You said Nana Patekar was not supposed to choreograph that song, what made you feel that he was the one who was adding or changing dance steps?
Tanushree: I was there. He was grabbing my hands and teaching me how to dance.
Q: You called Nana Patekar a culprit and said stars like Akshay Kumar and Rajinikanth should not work with him, you think it helps his career and stardom if other stars work with him?
Tanushree: Of course! His career is built on doing supporting roles for big stars. He doesn't have the credibility to sell a movie by himself. He is a pathetic actor.
Q: Other stars may be signing films which have Nana Patekar for other reasons like the story or the director. Do you still feel that they should take a stand and not be a part of those films because Nana Patekar is in it?
Tanushree: Of course! You must not work with criminals. You must not work with people who harass girls. You must not work with people who after harassing girls call political party goons to bash up the girl and her family and attack her car.
Q: You were threatened?
Tanushree: Yes! I was threatened and my car was attacked while my parents were in it. The harassment continued for years. I was attacked by a political party at the behest of Nana Patekar.