Nana Patekar laughs off Tanushree’s harassment claim

Agencies
September 28, 2018

Mumbai, Sept 28: The debate over what is being seen as Bollywood’s #MeToo moment snowballed on Thursday as Tanushree Dutta reiterated her claim that Nana Patekar had harassed her on the sets of a film in 2008 and the veteran actor laughed off her allegation, asking what he could do about it.

A day after Dutta reopened the window on the 10-year-old incident and specifically named Patekar, there was a furious discussion on social media platforms and other media outlets but the film industry itself was mostly silent.

Patekar dismissed Dutta’s claim that he had misbehaved with her on the sets of Horn Ok Pleassss in 2008.

In a telephonic conversation with Mirror Now, the 67-year-old actor said he would see if he could take any legal step.

“What can I do about it? Tell me? How would I know?” he asked with a laugh. “What does she mean by sexual harassment? There are 50-100 people on the sets with me. Will see what I can do legally,” Patekar can be heard saying in Marathi in the audio available on the channel’s official Twitter account. Such behaviour, he added, could not have gone unnoticed in a film set with “50-100” people.

Rakesh Sarang, director of Horn Ok Pleassss, backed Patekar. “She misunderstood the enthusiasm of Mr Patekar. There were so many people on the sets. If somebody wanted to do it, why do it in front of everyone?” Sarang told PTI.

Dutta, who said she had spoken about her ordeal in 2008 as well, described Patekar’s response as a “fear and intimidation tactic.” Patekar was “repeating the mistake” that got him into trouble, she said.

“I don’t even consider him worth commenting on... Dismissing a woman’s claim, dismissing her completely. It is fear and intimidation tactic. This attitude to laugh it off, I think he will face a severe backlash. I can see through everything he is trying to do. That is sad,” the actor, who is now based in the US, told PTI.

Asked about the issue that was trending on social media and was the subject of many discussions all over, Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan evaded a direct answer.

Asked about the evasive reaction, Dutta said she was going to give them time and was hopeful that “people would do the right thing“.

“They are exposing themselves. This is the response of those who talk about women’s empowerment and support the #MeToo movement happening in America... and when that is happening here, this is how they respond,” she said.

She said she was coming from a compassionate space and was not going to jump to conclusions. “Some humanity will rise and they will say or do something about it. I am still hopeful that people will do the right thing,” the actor said.

When Dutta had raised the issue in 2008, Patekar had denied the claims.

Recounting the incident and its aftermath, she said she had tried to escape but the situation went from being a “harassment situation to a mob lynching situation.”

“When I tried to escape they called the media, they called some people to mob lynch and attack my car. My parents were there inside and even I was inside, it was horrific...They made sure that we did not escape from the studio, they locked the gates and then the cops came and they got us out... So when we filed the police report, they filed a counter complaint and because of the counter FIR, my dad, hair dresser and spot boy had to go through so much harassment over the next couple of years,” she recounted.

Dutta’s allegations have triggered a furious debate on sexual harassment in the Hindi film industry with many supporting her but others questioning her motives for raising the issue so many years later.

The actor, who has featured in films such as Aashiq Banaya Aapne and Chocolate: Deep Dark Secrets, said she spoke about the issue earlier and no one had the right to say anything to her.

“They called me a slut, an unprofessional.. when I spoke about it eight to ten years back. Nobody has right to say anything to me,” Dutta said.

PTI reached out to Patekar for a comment but there was no response.

Comments

Naresh
 - 
Friday, 28 Sep 2018

She was almost raped by emran hashmi in film and now talking about harassment 

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News Network
January 12,2020

Ahmedabad, Jan 12: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday unveiled over 5.5 lakh postcards written by Ahmedabad residents to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, thanking him for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

The postcards were stacked on the dais as Shah addressed a gathering of BJP workers who formed letters `C A A’ in front of him.

The state BJP claimed that the party’s “largest awareness campaign” in support of the CAA had found a place in Limca Book of Records and World Record of India.

“It is not just words but a letter of thanks written from the heart. Our public outreach programme is a reply to the lies being spread against the CAA,” Shah said addressing BJP workers from his former Assembly constituency Naranpura.

The BJP had promised to enact the CAA in its manifesto, he said, asking why the Congress did not oppose it then.

Targeting Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Shah said, “Congress has a government in Rajasthan. The Congress party in that state had promised that Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan would be given citizenship.

“Why do you oppose it when we fulfill the promise made by you?” the Union home minister asked.

“In 2006 and 2009, Ashok Gehlot wrote a letter for the same. We covered Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, Christians, all of them under the Act, you had only mentioned Hindus and Sikhs,” Shah claimed.

Saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, by bringing in the CAA, granted “human rights to lakhs of people”, he asked why opposition was against it.

He challenged “Rahul Baba” (Congress leader Rahul Gandhi), Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal to show if any provision of the CAA took away the citizenship of Indian Muslims.

“There is no such provision. Lakhs and crores of people have come to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh to save their religion, their self-respect, to save themselves. Where else will they go?” he asked.

“From the first prime minister of the country Jawaharlal Nehru to the first home minister, first president of the country, and Mahatma Gandhi himself had said that whoever comes to India from Pakistan will be granted citizenship. Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains coming from Pakistan have nowhere else to go,” he said.

Comments

sompady
 - 
Sunday, 12 Jan 2020

From this figure its clear that most of BJP mebers are aganst CAA, Becuase its below 0.5% from Indian population.

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News Network
March 6,2020

Mumbai, Mar 6: Harried Yes Bank depositors rushed to ATMs to withdraw cash but faced multitude of problems including closed down machines and long queues, after the RBI placed the bank under a moratorium, capping maximum withdrawals at Rs 50,000 per account for a month.

Aggravating the problems of depositors were difficulties accessing the internet banking channel, which ensured that they can't transfer the funds online as well. At an ATM in south Mumbai's Horniman Circle, with the RBI headquarters overlooking it, the shutters were pulled down.

The guard on duty said the machine was non-operational before he reported to work late in the evening and he was ordered to shut it after 2200 hrs. In the residential area of suburban Chembur, one ATM was dispensing cash but had a long queue of anxious depositors.

One man said it was still possible to withdraw up to Rs 50,000 in multiple transactions from the machine.

However, another machine nearby had run dry within minutes of the RBI announcement, a woman said.

The regulatory actions, undertaken by the RBI and the government, came hours after finance ministry sources confirmed that SBI was directed to bail out the troubled lender.

For the next month, Yes Bank will be led by the RBI-appointed administrator Prashant Kumar, an ex-chief financial officer of SBI.

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News Network
March 11,2020

New Delhi, Mar 11: According to the Union health ministry, there are 62 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country.

The Delhi High Court Wednesday sought the stand of the Centre and the Delhi government on a PIL seeking proper and adequate measures to combat coronavirus.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar issued notice to the Ministry of Health and the Delhi government seeking their replies on the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by an advocate.

The petition, by lawyer Triveni Potekar, seeks directions to the Centre and the Delhi government to make available important and relevant information on access to and availability of medical facilities for testing and treatment for the coronavirus disease.

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