SCOOPS: CINTAA to take action against Alok Nath, Saif and Kareena go extra mile for Taimur and more

In the last one month, the #MeToo Movement in India has gained momentum, with several women coming out and calling out sexual predators at work. With names of actors like Nana Patekar and Alok Nath present in the list of accused, CINTAA (Cine and Television Artistes Association) also spoke about the action that they are expected to take against the offenders. 

Vikram Gokhale, President of the association was asked about his closeness to Patekar. He then responded by saying, “I don’t want to comment on the Tanushree Dutta-Nana Patekar case because it’s sub judice. Till we are legally allowed to talk about it, we won’t take any sides.” Sushant defended Gokhale and added, “Nana and Tanushree are both still part of CINTAA. Their case is a legal one now. Any action that has to be taken can only happen after the investigation is over and the verdict is out. We have certain rules, on the basis of which, we aren’t allowed to take up a case that is more than three years old. So we had asked Tanushree to file a complaint again. But a police case was filed and two parallel investigations can’t happen. Let the law take its own course. Nana is co-operating with the police, too.” 

As for Alok Nath, the artistes’ union is taking a different course. “I personally believe what Vinta (Nanda) wrote. There are several other members who came out and spoke about the harassment they faced at the hands of Alok Nath. We are working on this case and Navneet Nishan has also informed us that she will corroborate Vinta’s statement. He has responded to our show cause notice and he has asked us to not expel him till court orders,” Sushant told the press. 

How does that solve the case, we ask. He reiterated, “We are not saying we will not take any action against Alok. He has made his requests and we are yet to sit and decide on what the outcome will be. Since I personally voiced my opinion on a public platform, it won’t be right for me to sit and take part in this decision. We need to define punishment for what one has done. As a trade union, we can only expel such people from associations. But as an industry, we need to think.”

Composer Anu Malik, who is currently judging the music reality show Indian Idol, has been accused of sexual harassment by two singers — Sona Mohapatra and Shweta Pandit. We contacted the channel officials to find out if they are contemplating any action against the composer with regards to the show, but they didn’t revert till the time of going to press. However, sources, say that internal discussions about the situation are underway.  

Reacting to the allegations, Anu’s lawyer Zulfiquar Memon sent a statement saying, “The allegations made against my client are emphatically denied as completely false and baseless. My client respects the #MeToo Movement but to use this movement to start a character assassination mission is obnoxious.”   

Meanwhile, the composer, we hear, will be recording a song that he has composed for the serial Mere Sai. “Anu Malik is a Sai bhakt and he came up with the idea of composing a special song for the serial. It is sung by Indian Idol contestants and is being recorded at his studio,” says a source. 

Though both Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan have to deal with busy work schedules, they have their parenting fundas in place. The superstar couple ensures that one of them is always around their son Taimur. While the tot does have his nanny and a comfortable setup, his parents aren’t too far away at any given point of time. Says a source, “When Kareena is shooting, Saif spends time with him and vice versa. When both of them have work, one of them takes him along. Recently, when Kareena had a shoot, Saif, who had a film to promote, had Taimur with him.” The source adds that they go the extra mile to be around the munchkin as they don’t want to miss out on this phase of their son’s life.

Taapsee Pannu recently acquired a badminton team, Pune Seven Aces, in the Premier Badminton League that rolls out this December. This is the first time the Manmarziyaan actress will be venturing into this space and she has decided to take time out to learn the sport as well. Says a source close to the actor, “Taapsee is currently shooting for her South film in Chennai and she has taken up badminton lessons again. Taapsee will be overlooking the team so she thinks it is important for her to understand the sport better. She will be practising the sport for a month now.”