Women from across the country are calling out powerful men and revealing horrifying stories of sexual harassment. The #MeToo movement hit India late, but when it did, nothing could stand in the way. Bollywood is hit hard and from Alok Nath to Subhash Ghai, many big names are under scrutiny.
The most recent actress to open up about her harassment story is Chitrangada Singh. In an interview with a leading news portal, the actress recalled an incident from the sets of Babumoshai Bandookbaaz, a movie in which she was working with Nawazuddin Siddiqui in 2017. Later, she walked out of the movie and was replaced by Badita Bag.
Chitrangada said that she was asked to take off her saree, get on top of the hero and rub herself against him. And that is when she decided to express her discomfort, “I pleaded that this was not in my comfort zone. I said I was wearing only a petticoat underneath the saree. The director told me not to fuss and just do what was required. I was intimidated, bullied and threatened into doing it. Some crew members were mortified. But, Nawaz just sat there waiting for the storm to blow over,” she recalled.
Expecting someone on the sets to understand the awkwardness of the situation, Chitrangada spoke to the director of the movie, Kushan Nandy about the same when he visited the set. But instead of asking her if she was okay, she shares how the director behaved. “He didn’t ask me if I was okay. He just asked, ‘Are you doing the scene?’ I said no. He left. Nawaz could’ve taken a stand against my harassment. He didn’t. When empowered men in the film industry do not take a stand, the harassers feel encouraged,” she said. Chitrangada even quotes the director saying, “Tange ragdo and sex karo,” while directing Nawazuddin and her in an intimate scene together in her interview from 2016.
The director and Nawazuddin are yet to issue a statement on her allegations. Chitrangada Singh will next be seen in Bazaar opposite Saif Ali Khan.
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