Mumbai: Tanushree Dutta filed a police complaint against actor Nana Patekar on Saturday. Dutta has recently accused the actor of harassing and misbehaving with her while shooting a song on the sets of the film Horn Ok Pleasss.
She has filed the complaint at the Oshiwara police station against Patekar, choreographer Ganesh Acharya, producer Sameer Siddiqui and director Rakesh Sarang.
According to Dutta’s advocate Nitin Satpute, the actor will be giving a statement to the police on Sunday.
“We have filed a police complaint, they are investigating the matter and tomorrow [Sunday] they have called her [Dutta] for recording her statement,” Satpute told PTI.
He added that a similar complaint had been filed by the actor back in 2008 as well.
In a letter, Dutta said that she lodged her complaint for the registration of FIR under Sections 354, 354 (A), Section 34 and Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
She further said before shooting the song, which was supposed to be a solo song picturised only on her, she had clearly mentioned that she will not enact or perform any lewd, vulgar or uncomfortable steps.
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However, on the fourth day of the shoot, Patekar’s behaviour was inappropriate as he was grabbing her by the arms and pushing her around on the pretext of teaching her some steps, the complaint said.
“When he was touching me indecently and unnecessary I felt very uncomfortable because of his behaviour, I felt he has outraged my modesty,” the letter read.
Dutta even complained to the choreographer, producer and director hoping some action would be taken and everything would be fine.
But to her surprise, new steps were introduced by Acharya, which were intimate and included Patekar touching her inappropriately, she alleged.
The actor said she was being forced and pressurised to do the steps but after she refused, the producer threatened to defame her.
Everyone was taking Nana Patekar’s, she said.
She then called her parents and manager, who questioned Patekar’s actions. However, the producer refused to budge and Dutta had no choice but to leave the studio, the complaint said.
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On the way out, her car was attacked but with the help of the police she managed to escape from the spot, it added.
We were then taken to the police station and my statement was recorded but not as per the complaint. Many parts of my complaint were deleted, omitted and avoided, she alleged.
She also lodged a complaint with CINTAA in March 2008.
“After the above incident I was under tremendous shock and I suffered psychological trauma and was unable to take work and suffered huge monetary loss in crores,” Dutta said in the letter.
“I said this ten years ago… a lie is a lie (Dus saal pehle bol chuka hoon, ab jo jhoot hai woh jhoot hai‘),” Nana Patekar told reporters here Saturday.
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Tanushree Dutta has also accused director Vivek Agnihotri of harassing her and asking her to strip for a movie. Both Nana Patekar and Vivek Agnihotri filed defamation cases against Dutta. The MNS has also filed a case against her for after she claimed that the party workers were involved in vandalising her vehicle in 2008.
The allegations have sparked a series of #metoo posts on social media where women from various professional spheres including journalism and comedy have accused well established editors and comedians of sexual harassment.