The #MeToo movement in 2017 brought many significant changes in Hollywood especially for women. One of the most powerful producers Harvey Weinstein fell from grace after he was accused of rape, sexual assault and abuse by multiple women in the industry. This was only the tipping point and several big names like Kevin Spacey, Brett Ratner, and Oliver Stone were also accused of sexual misconduct. However, the impact was not felt at such a big scale in Bollywood.
A few actresses like Swara Bhasker, Konkana Sen Sharma, Radhika Apte and Richa Chadda showed solidarity to the movement but it fizzled out. Now, Tanushree Dutta has come forward and opened up about her experience of harassment during her active years in the industry to a leading news portal. The actress said, “The thing is that our country has become so hypocritical, and people constantly ask why #MeToo movement is not happening in India, it won’t happen unless and until you’ll acknowledge what happened with me in 2008.”
She further added, “The #MeToo happened in Hollywood a year or two back, but in India it happened several years ago. I was probably one of the first people in the history of this country in the media field to speak up and stand up. Everybody saw what happened but the memory and the popular perception of it is that Tanushree Dutta spoke up against harassment and then she was no more.”
Tanushree had accused an unnamed actor of misbehaving with her while she was shooting for a special dance number on the sets of Horn OK Please. She had alleged that the actor made her uncomfortable with unwanted attention and made it so bad that she eventually had to opt out of the song. She spoke about how the actor was trying to intimidate her during the interview. She alleged that when she turned down the actor’s advances he brought in help from a political party on the set to intimidate her.
Tanushree said during the interview that the incident left her shaken and took away her belief from humanity. She said, “It was a very complicated year for me. Firstly, nobody from the industry spoke up for me publicly, and on the top of that they continued working with the perpetrators. He was trying all kind of intimidation tactics to rattle me. He was grabbing me by the arms, pushing me around then he would ask the choreographers to move and teach me how to dance, and the next thing I know he wanted to do an intimate sequence with me. It was ridiculous.”
Apparently, the actor was not supposed to be a part of the dance number and Tanushree’s contract said that it was a “solo” track but he weaselled his way in. She said, “I was literally cornered and I was protesting that I don’t want to do that intimate dance step with him because I was uncomfortable with his proximity on set.” When she turned down his advances, the actor called goons from a political party that smashed and broke the actress’ car. Tanushree said that the incident left her shaken.
She said, “I got some 30-40 film offers after the controversy, but I was suffering from such major fear that I would not even want to go on a film set. Because when you go through such experience you think everybody is like that. You refuse to believe that I have worked with good people also.”
Tanushree who was a former Miss India gradually faded away from the public eye post the controversy. The actress who was last seen in Jag Mundhra’s Apartment in 2010 said that she has a lot more clarity today and would make better choices and work with better people.
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