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Bollywood celebs stand in support of Tanushree Dutta

Bollywood celebs stand in support of Tanushree Dutta

An eye witness has stepped forward to corroborate Dutta's sexual harassment allegation against Nana Patekar
Updated 30 Sep, 2018

Indian journalist Janice Sequiera has gone on Twitter to corroborate Tanushree Dutta's account of sexual harassment at the hands of her Horn Ok Pleassss co-star Nana Patekar, saying that she was present during the incident.

Sequiera tweeted that she was on set when Patekar harassed her and can confirm that the actor's story is true. She tweeted, "Some incidents that take place even a decade ago remain fresh in your memory. What happened with #TanushreeDutta on the sets of “Horn Ok Please” is one such incident - I was there. #NanaPatekar".

In a thread she described what happened.

For all the naysayers, Sequiera said, "The chat I had with Dutta hours after the incident was identical to the account she’s come out with now. How could a person’s version remain the same a decade later if there wasn’t any truth to it?"

Bollywood celebs soon came in full support of Dutta after the journalist's tweet, with Farhan Akhar being the first to break the silence in the industry regarding this incident.

Earlier this week, Tanushree Dutta named the fellow co-star who had misbehaved with her on set of the 2008 film, stating it was veteran actor Nana Patekar.

Also read: Indian actor Tanushree Dutta alleges Nana Patekar harassed her a decade ago

"I want to take names - actor Nana Patekar, producer Sami Siddiqui, director Rakesh Sarang and choreographer Ganesh Acharya. When Nana Patekar misbehaved with me, he said out loud that he would do an intimate step with me in the song, which wasn’t mentioned in my contract. It was supposed to be a solo sequence of mine. I would feel very uncomfortable when he would come next to me and try to put his arm around me," she said in an interview with Zoom TV.

"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 was an intimate sequence with me. It was ridiculous.”

Also read: Nana Patekar reportedly laughed in response to Tanushree Dutta's harassment allegations

However, as reported by Hindustan Times, the actor laughed when questioned about the incident and asked, “What does she mean by sexual harassment? There were 50-100 people on set with me.”

Patekar, who had remained unavailable for comment since the news broke also told Mirror Now, “What can I do about it? You tell me,” and contemplated taking legal action.

Comments

Alba Sep 28, 2018 01:35pm
I can see why the man's serious lack of attraction by women led to harassment.
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JammuiteIndian Sep 28, 2018 02:13pm
@Alba Because we have dirty patriarchal mindset. It will take about 50 years for us to achieve equality.
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Amal Sep 28, 2018 07:22pm
I hope we take a leaf out of this and support Meesha, Ayesha Gulalai, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and many other victims who stood up and are fighting against dirty patriachal mindset our society suffers from.
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Pranav Sep 28, 2018 08:31pm
@Alba This is about the combination of power and misogyny - not physical attraction.
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SQ Sep 28, 2018 08:51pm
The most senseless and insensitive thing to say to the survivors of sexual assault or rape is "why didn't they speak up earlier". One cannot imagine how traumatizing and humiliating their experiences must be. What they must have gone through? For months or years, they may have been in pain and/or denial. They have the right to speak whenever they want and the world must listen. A harasser will always be a harasser. By speaking up, the survivors save others from the same fate.
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ABD USA Sep 28, 2018 08:51pm
@JammuiteIndian In Western Culture and all over the world many men in the position of the power have treated women who work with them in a patronizing manner and few have tried to take unfair advantage of their position to demand sexual favors. Only the deterrence of punishment, millions of dollars in compensation award by the court to the victim and publicly shaming may slowly bring the change to the mind of predators that it's not business as usual. There are news stories about women board of director arriving early for a meeting being mistaken for a secretary and asked for tea by a male member of the board. Similarly, women doctors have been mistaken as a Nurse by the male patients. It's Men's world and we all saw how the USA Senate treated an allegation of sexual misconduct for a Supreme Court Nominee in a disrespectful manner in the complete public view of a global audience watching the live streaming of the proceedings.
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A. ALI Sep 30, 2018 04:18pm
As kong as 55 to 60 years are being portrayed as heroes in bollywood... thiese things will not cease ro exist...
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Pranav A. Oct 01, 2018 04:16am
@Alba You should be ashamed of your thoughtless comment. This is not about being "attractive". Attractive people also sexually harass others. Harassment is the result of misogyny and unequal power relations.
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