Tanushree Dutta's debut film Chocolate: Deep Dark Secrets in 2005. And now, the actress has revealed some dark secrets of the director of the film, Vivek Agnihotri. In an exclusive interview to DNA, Tanushree revealed that she was asked to strip and dance by Vivek on the sets of her debut film. 'Kapde utaar ke naacho' (Remove your clothes and dance), is what he told her. SHOCKING! Isn't it? Irrfan Khan and Suniel Shetty, who were a part of the film, however, supported her and asked the director to stop it immediately. The incident took place on the sets of the film when Agnihotri asked her to give 'cues' to Irrfan. She said, "This guy (Vivek Agnihotri) wanted me to give cues to an actor (Irrfan Khan). It was an actor's close-up. It was not even my shot. I was not even going to be in the shot. It was the actor's close-up and he had to just look at something and give expressions. This director, he told me jao jaake kapde utaar ke naacho, usko cues do." Tanushree Dutta-Nana Patekar Row: Farhan Akhtar Comes Out in Support of the Actress, Says ‘Her Courage Should Be Admired, Not Her Intention Questioned’.
Adding further, the actress told the daily, "The male actor had to shoot back at the director saying, 'I don't need her to take off her coat and dance for me to give facial expressions. This was Irrfan Khan. I really appreciated that he actually spoke up like that because it was his close-up shot. I'm not in the frame. He had to look at me and give some expressions. Why do I have to dance in front of him for him to give expressions on his close-up shot. This director tells me 'jao jaake kapde utaar ke naacho'. I was shocked!"
"...The actor was horrified. And, because he had done some work, he could say something. He just told the director, 'What are you talking about? I can give my closeup. Mujhe acting aati hai'. Suneil Shetty also spoke up. He was also there, he heard it and he got offended by it. He was like, 'Main aayun kya wahaan cues dene ke liye?' Yeah o fcourse, there are good people in the industry. Both, Irrfan Khan and Suniel Shetty spoke up. Suniel scolded that guy," she revealed.
Tanushree has been courageous enough to reveal names from Bollywood of actors who have sexually harassed her in the past. It started off with Nana Patekar, then she accused Ganesh Acharya, who spoke in support of Nana, and now it is Vivek Agnihotri who she claims asked her to strip and dance. While actors like Amitabh Bachchan has refused to comment on it, Farhan Akhtar has lauded the actress' bravery. Is this a start of the #MeToo movement in Bollywood too?
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 28, 2018 09:55 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).