After the #MeToo movement started off in the West, in India too, the movement seems to be gaining momentum. Tanushree Dutta recently spoke about facing sexual harassment on a film set 10 years ago by her co-star Nana Patekar. While filmwallahs are shocked by these revelations, another actress has spoken about being sexually harassed by a director, reported DNA.
The actress who hails from Kolkata had filled a police complaint against director Premanghsu Roy for sexual harassment in 2016 while she was working on her first film.
Talking to the daily, the actress said,
I appeared for the screen test for a Bengali film ‘Gondho’ on June 18, 2013 when I was 20 years old. After being selected, I attended a workshop till August 15 in an office on Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road where Roy harassed me.
In the complaint, the actress mentioned that Roy would rehearse several intimate scenes with her under the threat of ruining her career. The actress added that while rehearsing, Roy asked her to perform nude scenes when nobody was present.
Though the script demanded very little exposure, Mr Roy forced me to perform complete nudity (sic) in front of him during a workshop when no one was present.
While they were shooting for the film in the Purulia district, the actress revealed that every day after the shoot, he would call her in his room and proposition her.
When she was questioned why she filed a complaint after three years, the actress added,
He had threatened to kill my family if I talked about it. I was very young at the time and was too intimidated to complain. The film was shelved and he vanished after that. When I saw him resurface with a new film, I thought I should speak out instead of letting him go scot-free.
The case was passed to Park Street Police Station later but as the victim was going through a severe ailment and was bedridden, the investigation was delayed. Roy, on the other hand, wasn’t traceable that time. After the police managed to traced him, the filmmaker was sent a notice but is currently out on a bail.