Aaditi Pohankar, who is winning hearts for her performance in Netflix's She co-starring Vijay Varma, recently landed into troubled waters. The actress got herself into the limelight for all the wrong reasons after 'Diet Sabya', on March 28, slammed her publically on Instagram for not paying the dues of a budding stylist who styled her for a photoshoot.
Within a matter of hours, Aaditi was at the receiving end of harsh trolls and abuses. For the unversed, Diet Sabya is an anonymous social media account which busts popular names of media & fashion industry for copying designs. On March 30, Aaditi gave her stylist Pujarini Ghosh due credit for her work, in the said post and even cleared her pending dues. PeepingMoon.com exclusively got in touch with the actress to dig out the details of the entire conversation from her point of view.
“My name is unnecessarily dragged into all this fiasco. It was a cheap publicity stunt. People who have worked with me know the kind of person I am. Everyone in the team knows that the services I got weren’t up to the mark. I used the picture because of circumstances like a different side was me had to be shown in articles. I never knew it would be blown out of proportion to this extent. If Pujarini says she is new, so am I. This is my first breakthrough. You make an agreement and settle for the fact that you made a mistake just to return with the claims of payment? She didn’t give me even four hours. She approached my manager in the evening and by night, this was out. Who is Diet Sabya? Is it a legal firm? Did they even call me?” Aaditi told.
Talking about facing the brunt of trolls, Aaditi said Pujarini’s friends also began slamming her for no reason. She added that actors do get bullied and this instance is a classic example. “After getting praise from the audience for my work, I am slammed. Is it fair to me? They could have easily asked me. It isn’t about 20 thousand rupees. People have told me ‘die’ and even the makers of She were dragged into the picture. She didn’t even give me time. If she claimed that I blocked her, why didn’t she contact my manager, why didn’t she mail me? Even if she didn’t deliver the services and would have asked me for the money as people in this lockdown situation can find it difficult, I would have given it. Money isn’t the issue but she should have given me time to understand the whole situation. She started messaging me and soon, her friends and those whom she collected bombarded me with cuss words. Actors work hard to earn their living and sometimes, they do get bullied and this case is a classic example of one,” Aaditi added.
When asked about settling the stylist’s dues, Aaditi told us that money isn’t a problem but pointing out at the matter through Diet Sabya was the main issue. She said if Diet Sabya wants publicity, they should do it rightfully and not on the creative front. “The reason I paid her solely, was because we are in dire circumstances at the moment and I understand it’s the need of the hour and no one is spared from it. But now, it is coming across as I bowed down before her. Diet Sabya can damage the image of a person who has worked hard. If they need publicity then they should do it the other way and not on the creative front. In She, I play the role of a strong woman constable. I support women empowerment and am I that cheap to bring a woman down?” asked Aaditi.
In addition to this, she spoke about the screenshots Pujarini gave Diet Sabya and said she should have approached the costume association if she had any issue. “In the screenshots, she has given to Diet Sabya, do you see any date there or a two-way conversation? Why is my part only highlighted? In the month of October, my manager said the picture can’t be used and this was conveyed to her back then. In six months, she never asked me for the payment. If she has a problem over the payment, she should have gone to CINTAA or costume association. She should have followed the hierarchy,” Aaditi expressed in disgust.
She further spoke about the time when she was closely working with Pujarini and admitted to having missed giving her the due credit. “She got me the clothes that didn’t fit me twice and then she asked me to get the pictures edited. I went to the Philippines for it and now they are trolling me. Yes, I agree it was my fault to not credit her. My Instagram is handled by my Social Media Manager, and he missed out on the credits. Henceforth, I’ll make sure all stylists are tagged. Why would I not credit anyone for their work?” asked the actress.
It looks like every coin has two sides and this is Aaditi’s take.
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