The entire world was in a wave of shock when Tanushree Dutta accused veteran actor Nana Patekar of sexual harassment. But what started with Tanushree has given women courage & power to speak out about something that happened with them.
Soon after Tanushree’s statement was out, various other women from the Bollywood industry came out with theirs. Singers like Sona Mohapatra, Neha Bhasin & Shweta Pandit accused music composer, Anu Malik of sexual harassment, last year and some came this year.
After the three singers accused Anu Malik, several other women had come forward with their accusations. They accused the composer & judge of improper conduct during the show. After the singers accused the composer, he was dropped as a judge of a singing reality show “Indian Idol” on the Sony channel. The composer also said that the allegation was “false & unverified”.
Anu Malik’s lawyer refuted the accusation and said that India’s #MeToo movement is being used for his client’s character assassination. Adding to the accusations, singer Alisha Chinai stated, “Every word said & written about Anu Malik is true. I stand by all the women who have finally spoken up. May they find peace & closure in their lives.”
In 1996, Alisha Chinai had taken the music composer Anu Malik to court for sexual harassment. She demanded 26 lakh from him, and in turn, he filed a defamation case of Rs 2 corer on her. The matter was solved after a few years and the two reconciled and judged Indian Idol together.
Asking about the court case, Alisha said, “When I sued (Anu) Malik, I fought it alone. It was an unprecedented landmark verdict and a restraining order was passed against him. The man has repeatedly begged for my forgiveness. I have chosen to forgive him and moved on,”
Recently, Anu Malik was back on the judging panel along with Vishal Dadlani & Neha Kakkar for Indian Idol 11. He issued an open letter on 14th November 2019, against all the accusations against him. The music composer said he is puzzled that why are the allegations resurfacing? He wrote why are they back when I am back on “television, which is currently my only source of livelihood?”
His comeback on television was not taken very positively and the audience started to criticize the show makers for calling him back. The people who have faced the same and the ones who strongly believe that men who are accused of such allegation doesn’t deserve to be an idol for young talents took their social media to share their views.
On Friday, Sona Mohapatra came out strongly against the accuser and his open letter on social media. Responding to his letter in which the music composer stated that he feels “cornered” & “suffocated”, Sona suggested him to go to a sex-rehab.
Mohapatra wrote: “The only ‘truths’ that have surfaced after I called you out last year is that many more women have told their stories of sexual harassment, assault experiences with you.” She mentioned singer Shweta Pandit’s accusation by writing how the composer scarred a little girl at the age of 15 when he asked her to kiss him in return for songs.
Mohapatra also mentioned other women like Danica D’Souza, Ex Indian Idol Producer who also accused Anu Malik of harassing the crew & contestants alike. She also mentioned Caralisa Monterio, Neha Bhasin & Alisa Chinai to make it clear that she isn’t the only one who has faced such horrible & traumatic experiences.
She stated, “None of these women are connected or have anything to gain by speaking up about the predatory behavior of one powerful, rich, perverted man.”
The singer who is known for her out-front & bold statements highlighted the effect of sexual misconduct on the mental health of the victims. She wrote, “What about the ‘mental health’ of all these people who have gone through this traumatic experience because of you? Did you care about them over these years? What about the mental health of good India & all the victims & their families when they see you flaunting yourself on TV & Encouraging others like you?”
In his open letter, Malik has mentioned that he is a father of two daughters & he can’t think of committing such acts.
Sona countered this statement by simply stating that having two daughters has no link to being a predator. Sona had accused the music composer Anu Malik last year that he would call her at odd hours and referred to her as “maal” in front of her composer husband Ram Sampath.
Ever since Anu Malik was called back on Indian Idol, Sona hasn’t been taking his comeback very acceptingly. She even called out master blaster & cricket God, Sachin Tendulkar on social media for praising talented young contestants on Indian Idol 11. She questioned the cricket idol about whether he is aware of #MeToo allegations on Anu Malik or not?
Though most Bollywood celebrities have kept mum on this matter, Abhay Deol is one such actor who has come out in support of the singer. Sona shared a screenshot of Abhay’s comment and appreciated the actor for supporting honesty.
Neha Bhasin was also accused of the music composer Anu Malik, lashed out at Sony TV and asked a question, “I just have one point to make- why is he so important to a particular channel that he has to be reinstated?”. Neha Bhasin termed him as “ugly pervert”.
The singers, actress, writers, etc. women who have had the courage and power to come out and speak up about the ill doings of the men who have power. The industry or the world is not an easy place for a young woman away from her family.
Sona Mohapatra has taken up this issue on social media, strongly demanding the channel to remove Anu Malik from the judging panel. Other singers such as Shweta Pandit and Neha Bhasin have backed Sona’s claims, stating that Malik made them uncomfortable as well. Mohapatra has been leaning on the fellow judge and composer Vishal Dadlani to support their cause and speak up against Malik.
In an interesting turn of events, singer Hema Sardesai has come out in support of music composer Anu Malik. She took her social media to share a post in support of the composer. She clearly stated that I want to know why are the accusers speaking now? Sona clapped back at her post by stating that “Somebody tells Ms. Sardesai that yes, it takes two bodies to even get raped but that does not mean the person getting raped is to be blamed?”
Sona also claimed, ‘this is called victim shaming & it is the reason why minors, survivors & their families haven’t formally complained? Sick, Silly woman.” Kashmera Shah, Sonu Nigam, etc. are also on the list of celebrities that came out in support of the composer Anu Malik against the claims by the women. They believe that the composer is accused of the allegations without any proof.
Didn’t Sajid Khan was asked to exit Housefull 4 because he was accused of sexual misconduct? The Housefull series was his idea & kind of his baby right? He was asked to leave that. So is it fair to drop a director out of his movie but accept an accused music composer as a judge on national television?
Let us know what you think about India’s #MeToo?