Lewd dance were created so that Nana Patekar could touch Tanushree Dutta wrongly: Eyewitness

New Delhi : The Aashiq Banaya Aapne actress opened up that she was sexually harrased by Nana Patekar during the shoot of their film Horn Ok Please. She spoke about the unfortunate incident that took place ten years ago and accused that the film industry people remain tight-lipped at that time, as they are even today.

A journalist named Janice Sequeira, who was present on the sets of Horn Ok Please, took to Twitter to share her account.

"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.

I was a cub reporter in 2008, assigned by AajTak and Headlines Today to cover the BTS of a song being shot for this film. When I arrived, I was told shooting had been stalled because the actress, #TanushreeDutta was "being difficult".

I could see Tanushree on set, visibly upset about something. #NanaPatekar, choreographer Ganesh Acharya and a man (who I later found was the producer) were having a conversation, while 50-odd dancers sat waiting. The official version was that the "heroine was not cooperating".

After a while, the shooting resumed and Nana Patekar joined her, while Tanushree walked off set. Shooting halted again. She locked herself in her vanity van, refusing to come out.

Tanushree walked off set. Shooting halted again. She locked herself in her vanity van, refusing to come out.

The journalist also said that a lewd dance step was introduced so that he could touch her inappropriately. That's where alarm bells rang, and Tanushree decided to walk off set. What she didn't expect was the aggression shown by the producers after.

She added, "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?

[Our chat was off-the-record, even though she went on to give interviews later.]

For anyone who's either going to be ignoring or downplaying Dutta's account as a desperate call for attention and question why she didn't speak out earlier - she did. Interviews by Dutta were followed by a press conference by #NanaPatekar where she was branded "unprofessional".

This was a decade ago. It could have possibly been the first instance of a Bollywood actress calling out sexual predators, and her voice was silenced by more powerful men who continued to have flourishing careers. Now she's found her voice again. Shouldn't we listen?

Things aren't the same anymore (even though, they aren't exactly different either). The #MeToo movement has encouraged women to come out and speak about sexual misconduct in the West. If it's, in turn, inspiring women in India to speak out, we need to find a way to encourage it.

We all know there are hundreds and thousands of women who are too afraid to speak out against sexual assault and misconduct, lest they be called "unprofessional". They will only speak up if we appreciate - even laud - the courage of #TanushreeDutta, and not look the other way."