Tanushree Dutta has received two legal notices, one each on behalf of veteran actor Nana Patekar and filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri.
“I’ve been slapped with two legal notices today. One from Nana Patekar and another from Vivek Agnihotri. This is the price you pay for speaking out against harassment, humiliation and injustice in India,” Dutta said in a statement.
The former beauty queen said both Patekar and Agnihotri’s teams are on a smear campaign against her by constructing outright lies and misinformation on social media platforms and other public platforms.
“Today, while I was at home and the police personnel posted outside my home were on a lunch break, two unnamed suspicious individuals tried getting into our home uninvited but were stopped just in time by security personnel in the building,” she said. “Later, the police came back from their break and secured the premises again. Violent threats are being issued against me by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) party.”
“I am being threatened to be dragged into the court and legal system of India which we all know can keep a woman and her supporters as well as media silent on the pretext of ‘matter subjudice’, but can also further be used to harass her and drain her out financially,” she added.
Dutta says the “dawn of justice never arrives”.
“Court cases can run for decades without a hope for a conclusion,” she added.
Calling it the age-old saga of survivors in the country, Dutta said: “And now I stand to lose this new life too if I allow myself to get embroiled in the court system of India. And you wanted to know why the #MeToo movement hasn’t happened in India... This is why.”
The actress, who worked in films like Aashiq Banaaya Aapne and Chocolate: Deep Dark Secrets, last month spoke out against alleged harassment she faced from Patekar on the sets of a 2008 film. She had been vocal about her experience a decade ago, but says was silenced due to forces bigger than her.
Dutta’s outburst is being seen as the beginning of India’s #MeToo campaign. While celebrities have slammed the casting couch and harassment reality, none had so far been named and shamed.
Patekar had last week dismissed Dutta’s claim, while Agnihotri has said she is pulling off a publicity stunt.
