India's #MeToo moment: Bollywood finally speaks up for Tanushree Dutta
Mumbai, Sep 28: Bollywood celebrities like Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar and Hansal Mehta among many others have come out in support of actress Tanushree Dutta, who has spoken up about her sexual harassment at the hands of veteran actor Nana Patekar on a film set a decade ago.
Tanushree, a former beauty queen, who had first raised the allegation against the actor in 2008, brought the spotlight once again on her unpleasant experience of working with Nana during the shooting of "Horn 'Ok' Pleassss", in a recent interview.
While speaking to IANS, Tanushree said it was because of Nana's powerful position as a National Award winning actor that her voice had remained suppressed for so long.
Here's what the celebrities have tweeted:
Priyanka Chopra: Agreed..the world needs to believe survivors.
Farhan Akhtar, who has launched a social campaign Men Against Rape and Discrimination or MARD in 2013, re-tweeted a string of posts by an eyewitness about the details of Tanushree's ordeal.
"This thread is very telling. Janice (Sequeira, who at that time was with a news channel) was there at the time of the incident being debated today. Even when Tanushree Dutta had career concerns to keep quiet 10 years ago, she did not. And her story has not changed now. Her courage should be admired, not her intention questioned," Farhan said.
Actress Richa Chadha wrote that "It hurts to be Tanushree Dutta right now. To be alone, questioned.
"No woman wants publicity that opens the floodgates of trolling and insensitivity. What happened to her on set was intimidation. Her only fault was she did not back down -- (that) takes a special courage to be Tanushree Dutta."
Filmmaker Hansal Mehta tweeted: "India in general does not have a conducive work environment. Mental harassment, abuse and predatorial behaviour by people in positions of power are prevalent and considered perks of being in power. Years of oppression and colonial rule have permanently altered our DNA."
Actress Swara Bhasker re-tweeted a series of posts and wrote: "This is a long thread, but one that must be read.... lots of clues here as to why Bollywood's #MeToo moment is so far away. Because we don't want to hear these voices."
Producer, author and wife of actor Akshay Kumar, Twinkle Khanna tweeted: "Please read this thread before judging or shaming Tanushree Dutta -- a working environment without harassment and intimidation is a fundamental right and by speaking up this brave woman helps pave the way towards that very goal for all of us!"
Sequeira on Wednesday tweeted a thread recalling the unsavoury episode saying "some incidents that take place even a decade ago remain fresh in your memory. What happened with Tanushree is one such incident.
She said she had seen how the actress was visibly upset about something on the sets while Nana, choreographer Ganesh Acharya and the producer huddled around.
She said: "Amidst this chaos, I got hold of #NanaPatekar. All he said was, "Meri beti jaisi hai", which didn't really make any sense at that point." It was only later that she realised.
Sequeira said: "The chat I had with Dutta hours after the incident was identical to the account she's come out with now. How could a person's version remain the same a decade later if there wasn't any truth to it?(Our chat was off-the-record, even though she went on to give interviews later.)
Nana on Thursday said to a news channel: "What can I do about what one says? You tell me. What does it mean by sexual harassment."
In a shock to many of his fans and supporters, megastar Amitabh Bachchan on Thursday dodged commenting on the episode saying: "Neither am I Tanushree, nor am I Nana," which invited trolls galore.
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Baramati plane crash: Rohit Pawar alleges attempts to shield VSR Ventures
Mumbai (PTI): NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Wednesday alleged that someone was trying to save VSR Ventures in connection with the plane crash that killed Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, and claimed that the AAIB preliminary probe vindicated the doubts earlier raised by him.
He also accused VSR company of indulging in several grave lapses in the past.
The Learjet 45 aircraft, operated by VSR Ventures, crashed near the Baramati air strip in Pune district on January 28, killing Pawar and four others.
In its 22-page preliminary report on the VSR Venture's Learjet plane crash, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said the visibility at the time of the crash was below the required level. It also flagged about fading marks on the runway and presence of loose gravels on the runway surface.
Pawar said, "I am not against VSR or the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Ajitdada was travelling in a VSR aircraft. Unless we go into the depth of every aspect, we will not know the truth. But someone is trying to save this company. The doubts we had raised have been proven correct in the inquiry report."
He also claimed that the AAIB report contained discrepancies, including mentioning Baramati as a district, and questioned how seriously the probe had been conducted.
Pawar, who has been regularly holding press conferences to raise issues concerning the Baramati plane crash, also contested the report's conclusion that the aircraft hit trees before crashing.
"The report says the aircraft struck trees and then fell. But there are no trees at that spot. There is only a small bush which the aircraft did not even touch. What is stated in the report about hitting trees is incorrect," he said.
Pawar further alleged that VSR Ventures had displayed irresponsibility on multiple occasions, citing an incident involving the then chief minister Eknath Shinde's Davos visit on January 20, 2023.
He claimed that the aircraft carrying Shinde had entered Iranian and Iraqi airspace without overflight permission, following which fighter jets from the two countries allegedly warned of action, forcing a change in route from Bahrain to Zurich.
"There have been several such grave lapses by VSR," he said.
Pawar demanded to know from where VSR Ventures derived its "audacity", and sought details about its investors and officials, though he added that he was not personally concerned with who they were.
Drawing a comparison, he said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had taken over the probe into actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death within two days, whereas a month had passed since the Baramati crash without a similar action.
He claimed that VSR Ventures had two directors and three shareholders, and that there were eight common names across two related companies.
He further alleged that the owner of VSR was related to the Union Civil Aviation Minister and questioned why the company, though registered in Delhi, had made high-value investments in Jubilee Hills (upscale area in Hyderabad) at rates allegedly Rs 17 crore above the market price.
The MLA representing the Karjat-Jamkhed assembly constituency in Ahilyanagar district also raised concerns about the legal and institutional framework of the AAIB under the 2017 rules, claiming it was neither a statutory nor an autonomous body and remained answerable to the secretary and the minister, besides being attached to the DGCA.
"There is no independent investigative agency," he alleged.
