#MeToo: Nana Patekar gets clean-chit in Tanushree Dutta harassment case
In 2018, actress Tanushree Dutta accused Nana Patekar of sexual harassment. Her allegations started the much-needed #MeToo movement in Bollywood. Tanushree took it beyond social media outrage by filing a formal police complaint. But despite the brouhaha surrounding the case, nothing happened on the ground. On Thursday, Mumbai Police closed the probe against Patekar citing "lack of evidence". So much for following "due process".
Backstory: Tanushree accused Patekar of sexual harassment, shook Bollywood
The case dates back to 2009 when Tanushree was roped in for an item song in the movie Horn 'OK' Pleassss. During the filming, Patekar allegedly came close to Tanushree and touched her inappropriately, while other crew members remained mum. Infuriated over the incident, she stormed out of the sets. Later, goons of a political party also harassed Tanushree, driving her to quit Bollywood.
Bollywood did too little, too less for Tanushree
After Tanushree narrated her story, Bollywood did what it usually does- stay silent. Some stars did support the actress but only after journalist Janice Sequeira corroborated Tanushree's story on social media. Sonam Kapoor, Farhan Akhtar, and Priyanka Chopra said Tanushree deserved justice, but the Aashiq Banaya Aapne actress slammed their lip-service. Subsequently, she knocked on the doors of law.
Police said they couldn't find "enough evidence"
The complaint was filed in October 2018 and the investigation was closed today. Reportedly, the magistrate also called the case "maliciously false". How the police couldn't find "enough evidence" considering she was harassed on a movie's sets, which has multiple cameras, is something we clearly don't understand. Obviously, Patekar will use the closure report to claim he is "innocent".
Tanushree's lawyer also claimed Patekar was putting pressure on police
"There is a certain process that has to be followed by Police where they issue a letter to the complainant about the same... So, these are just false rumors and we are going to take action against such rumors," her lawyer reportedly said.
To recall, Bollywood stars had spoken about Patekar's behavior
After Tanushree broke her silence, stories related to Patekar's problematic behavior started surfacing. Actress Renuka Shahane said his volatile temper is an open secret in Bollywood. She slammed crew members for not stepping up when Tanushree showed discomfort. "The only person who was traumatized was Tanushree. The scars haven't still healed," Shahane wrote. And from looks of it, Tanushree has been let down again!
India's #MeToo fizzled out sooner than anyone expected
What Tanushree managed to do was start a conversation. Multiple women named and shamed their harassers and people like Kailash Kher, Alok Nath, Anu Malik, etc. joined the list. While the movement started with a bang and all of us hoped things would change, the alleged harassers have quietly returned to work. On the other hand, the victims are hoping their stories are heard.
