#MeToo EFFECT: THIS producer is trying to bribe heroine for not naming him; Molestation complaint against Subhash Ghai

A producer with pot loads of cash (despite demonetisation) got into a lather when he heard that more and more women were getting ready to spill the beans on him. One hears that when he heard that a petite, attractive heroine was actually summoning up the courage to reveal his exploits, he sent his trusted emissary over to reach a settlement.

After the Producers Guild of India formed a committee to look into sexual harassment cases in the wake of the #MeToo Movement, 11 Bollywood women directors have come together to take a stand. In a joint statement issued by them, they have stated that they won’t work with any sex offender. Zoya Akhtar, Konkona Sensharma, Nandita Das, Gauri Shinde, Meghna Gulzar, Kiran Rao, Reema Kagti, Alankrita Shrivastava, Nitya Mehra, Ruchi Narain and Shonali Bose have thrown their might behind the movement.

Reiterating their support for the #MeTooIndia Movement, their statement said, “We are in complete solidarity with the women who have come forward with honest accounts of harassment and assault. Our respect and admiration to them as their courage has started a revolution of welcome change.” They summed it up saying, “We are here to spread awareness to help create a safe and equal atmosphere for all in the workplace. We have also taken a stand to not work with proven offenders. We urge all our peers in the industry to do the same.”

After Hrs has got copies of the police complaint filed by Kate Sharma against Subhash Ghai. The model-actress has accused the veteran filmmaker of molestation, blackmailing and mental torture. As per her complaint filed on October 13 (Saturday), on August 6, he had called her to his house at DN Nagar, Andheri West. And in front of five-six people present, asked her to give him a massage. Though shocked, she reluctantly agreed and after a few minutes, went to wash her hands when he followed her. “He took me to his room saying he wanted to talk to me about something in private. But he grabbed me and tried to kiss me,” she has been quoted as saying.

When Kate reportedly requested to leave, Ghai apparently, threatened her to not launch her if she didn’t stay with him for the night.

On his part, the filmmaker has denied the accusations. We tried getting his side of the story, but his spokesperson said that his lawyers will be issuing the statement. We had not got the statement till the time of going to press. 

Model-turned-actress Sarah Jane Dias has been supporting India’s #MeToo Movement by retweeting the horrifying experiences women have been posting on social media and encouraging them to open up about sexual harassment. In a recent post, she has shared an article that calls out a talent agency manager without naming him for sexual misconduct. Accompanying the article, Sarah has written, “We all know who this is. I want all those girls and women who’ve been victim to this man’s harassment to know #metoo. Come out and tell your stories. Reach out to me. Enough is enough.” (Sic) We tried contacting her to see if she wanted to talk about it but her phone was unavailable. 

In another post, Lekha Washington, who is known for hosting sports shows, has tweeted, “Spent the day today agonising about whether to talk about some of the stuff thats happened #MeTooIndia.” (Sic).