Rajkumar Hirani, whose biopic Sanju on actor Sanjay Dutt was the highest grossing Bollywood film of 2018, has been accused of sexual assault by an assistant director (AD) who worked with him on the film. According to HuffPost India, Hirani did this between March and September 2018 when post-production work on the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer was happening. The film released on June 29, but the woman came out with her story only on November 3, in an email to Sanju co-producer and Hirani’s close business associate Vidhu Vinod Chopra.
Also marked on the email were journalist Anupama Chopra, Vidhu’s wife and a director of Vinod Chopra Films Pvt. Ltd, Abhijat Joshi, who scripted Hirani’s films Sanju, PK and Lage Raho Munna Bhai, and Shelly Chopra, Vidhu’s sister and the director of the February release Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga. The woman has alleged that Hirani first sexually assaulted her on April 9, in his home-office.
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“My mind, body and heart were grossly violated that night and for the next six months,” the email is reported to have said.
As to why she kept quiet all during her alleged exploitation, the woman said she was intimidated by Hirani who was her boss and took pains to conceal his actions and maintain a facade of normalcy as her father was suffering from a terminal illness and she desperately needed to hold on to her job. She said, “I endured it all because I didn’t want my job to be taken away and work to be questioned. I was worried that if I left midway, it would be impossible to find another job in this industry, because if Hirani said I wasn’t good, everybody would listen. My future would be in jeopardy.”
Hirani’s lawyer Anand Desai has refuted the allegations: “They are false, mischievous, scandalous, motivated and defamatory.” However, considerable damage already appears to have been done to the renowned filmmaker’s squeaky clean family man image and Bollywood trade sources are worried that Hirani’s relationship with Chopra will now crumble under pressure. The cracks are already showing. A June 27 teaser of Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga had included Rajkumar Hirani Films as co-producer. However, the December 26 trailer, after the allegations, makes no mention of Hirani.
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While Vidhu himself has remained silent about the sexual harassment complaint, his wife Anupama is believed t have to have told the woman she had their full support and they would be fully respectful of whatever decision she takes. While Abhijat maintained it was his duty to listen to the woman patiently. “I am here to support her and do what is ethical,” he is believed to have said.
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