Six celebs accused of harassment as #MeToo gathers force in India

Tanushree Dutta’s sexual harassment allegations against veteran Bollywood actor Nana Patekar has created a storm in Bollywood film industry, as now several women from the B-Town industry are coming forward to share their #MeToo stories about being sexually harassed by several celebrities.

Here is the list of Indian celebs who have so far been accused for harassing or sexually harassing women in the showbiz industry.

Nana Patekar

Actress Tanushree Dutta has said in a series of interviews that Nana harassed her on the sets of their 2008 film 'Horn OK Pleasss' and demanded that she does a sexually explicit dance step with him. She claimed that the film’s producer, director and choreographer were also involved in the harassment case.

Vikas Bahl

After Phantom films’ dissolution, allegations of sexual misconduct were put on director Vikas Bahl by a former employee of the production company. Phantom films was owned by Vikramaditya Motwane, Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl and Madhu Mantena.

In an interview with Huffington Post, the young women opened up about the sexual misconduct of the director which took place in Goa. Supporting the allegation, actress Kangana Ranaut also accused the director for sexually harassing her while filming ‘Queen’.

Alok Nath

Veteran writer-producer Vinta Nanda has accused actor Alok Nath of raping her almost two decades ago. He is known for his stereotypical Indian father, personifying religious traditions and moral values in films and TV shows.

“I have waited for this moment to come for 19 years,” Nanda wrote in a long, heart-wrenching Facebook post. “He was an alcoholic, shameless and obnoxious but he was also the television star of that decade, so not only was he forgiven for all his bad behaviour, many of the guys would also egg him on to be his worst,” she wrote, adding that he even harassed the show's lead actress who was not interested in him.

Rajat Kapoor

Actor Rajat Kapoor has been called out for alleged sexual harassment on Twitter with two women accusing him of inappropriate behaviour. One journalist shared details of a telephonic interview in which Kapoor allegedly asked her if she was ‘as sexy as she sounds’ and ‘tell me your vital stats’. However, Rajat has now apologized for his misconduct.

Kailash Kher

Popular Indian singer Kailash Kher has also been accused for sexually harassing a photojournalist at his apartment.

In his defence, Kailash said in a statement to IANS, “For all those who know me and have come across me, will know how much I respect humanity, especially women, even more for the ones who work in the media since their work is difficult”.

Chetan Bhagat

The author has been accused by a woman of harassing her on WhatsApp messages. A couple of screenshots from a WhatsApp chat between Chetan Bhagat and the woman started making rounds on the social media, in which the author wrote that he was trying to woo her.

The woman, clearly uncomfortable, indicated in the messages that her disinterest and pointed out that he was married. Chetan admitted that he indeed had such a conversation and apologized to the woman.