Tanushree Dutta calls Ganesh Acharya ‘a bloody liar’ who was complicit in her abuse

Actor Tanushree Dutta, who alleged that Bollywood veteran Nana Patekar misbehaved with her on the sets of the film Horn 'Ok' Pleassss in the year 2008, has dismissed choreographer Ganesh Acharya’s defence of Nana.

In an interview to ANI, Dutta said that Patekar allegedly misbehaved with her on the sets and that her complaint in the connection went unaddressed.

"He misbehaved on the sets. He was being aggressive and was pushing me around. I complained about him, but it was not heard. They (film crew) were forcing me to do an intimate step. My contract stated that it was a solo dance sequence, and it was not supposed to be a duet. It was a way to manipulate me. This was the whole harassment situation going on," Dutta said.

The Aashiq Banaya Aapne actor further alleged that she and her family were attacked after she refused to perform the intimate step.

"When I tried to escape it, they called the media to do a mob lynching attack on us. My mother and father were inside the car. That was horrific. They made sure that we didn't escape the studio as they locked the gates. Ganesh Acharya was the one who pressurised me to perform an intimate step. Everybody was involved including Amit Siddiqui and Rakesh Sarangi. All of them are good friends," Dutta claimed.

She asserted that before she and her family could reach out to the police to file a case, the film crew had already filed a counter FIR.

"The cops came and got us out. We went to the police station, but before that, they went and filed a counter FIR. My father, my spot boy and my hairdresser, who were helping me, went through harassment over the next couple of years," the 34-year-old actor alleged.

Reacting to choreographer Ganesh Acharya's statement on Patekar's non-involvement in the issue, Dutta claimed, "He's a bloody liar and a two-faced person. He's going to say all that. And 10 years ago, he was one of those people who were equally complicit in the harassment. He won't admit it."

Calling the veteran actor a "pawn" in the entire scenario, Dutta alleged, "He's not the end goal of this discussion. He's the reason why this discussion started. I want the industry to ban these people from working just to set an example for others. You can't get away with this behaviour. My fight is not with Nana Patekar or Ganesh Acharya. I don't want them to work. I want them to suffer the consequences of their actions."

She added, "One has to go through a lot when you put such allegations. The entire court and police process needs to be updated, else our country will plunge into chaos in no time."

Journalist Janice Sequeira in a Twitter thread claimed to have been present on the scene when Tanushree’s alleged harassment took place. She wrote that she could back up most of what Tanushree had alleged in her statements.

Expressing grave concerns over the rise in cases of gangrape, Tanushree said that such "horrendous cases of violence and abuse against women and children" would turn the country into Iraq soon, if such crimes were not curbed.

When asked why she made such allegations on a noted actor like Patekar, she said, " Who said he is that? Did you go into his house and see what he was up to? Did you live with him? Just because he got a National Award, he doesn't become a respectable human being."

She further alleged, "These film actors technologically know how to present themselves so that they come across as saintly. But you don't know what they are doing behind their back. Everyone stays mum because of this ideology because this one has a name. How do we speak against this person?"

Commenting further on the rape cases in the country, Dutta said, "In these last 10 years, more media outlets are there to cover the news. There is more dialogue in the society about sexual assault. And these cases have come to the forefront in the last couple of years. I spoke about it in 2008. When somebody is a rape survivor, she is going to take time to come out and speak. What they have gone through physically, emotionally and mentally. It is far worse than harassment."

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