Sona Mohapatra calls Kailash Kher a 'serial predator' as she narrates her own Me Too story, names Anu Malik too
Sona Mohapatra
Singer Sona Mohapatra has come forward to level sexual harassment allegations against Kailash Kher. Mohapatra shared her experience on Twitter days after a journalist came forward to allege inappropriate behaviour by Kher.
Describing the incident, Mohapatra tweeted, "I met Kailash for coffee in Prithvi Cafe to discuss a forthcoming concert where both our bands were playing & after the usual, a hand on my thigh with lines likes, your so beautiful, feel so good that a musician got you' (Ram) not an actor. I left not soon after." She claimed that despite being rebuffed, Kher continued to harass her, even during a concert in Dhaka.
"That did not deter Kailash Kher though. On landing in Dhaka and on my way to the venue with the organisers, keeps calling me and when I don't pick up, calls the organisers phone to get through to me and asks me to 'skip' the soundcheck and join him in his room instead to 'catch up'," Mohapatra wrote.
"The fact that Kailash had sung in my studios and for many projects in which I was the producer and knew me to be as strong as I am or that he had only recently taken a favour from my partner @RamSampathLive to create a personal track for him didn't stop him. #TheHubris of such #men" she said in another tweet.
She said Kher should not describe himself as a "simple" person who is "devoted to music".
"The shamelessness of this man. To call himself 'simple', 'devoted to music' and even claiming amnesia. If this chap could dare try this stunt with me, it's a disease that he has and I can vouch for not only these two women's stories but hundreds more he would've have preyed on," she wrote.
Check out the full Twitter thread here -
(1) I met Kailash for coffee in Prithvi Café to discuss a forthcoming concert where both our bands were playing & after the usual, a hand on my thigh with lines likes, your so beautiful, feel so good that a ‘musician got you’ (Ram) not an actor. I left not soon after. (1) https://t.co/Cfz8Hf4sdP
— SONA (@sonamohapatra) October 9, 2018
(2) That did not deter Kailash Kher though. On landing in Dhaka & on my way to the venue with the organisers, keeps calling me & when I don’t pick up, calls the organisers phone to get through to me & asks me to ‘skip’ the soundcheck & join him in his room instead to ‘catch up’ https://t.co/beBehXBLup
— SONA (@sonamohapatra) October 9, 2018
3)The fact that Kailash had sung in my studios & for many projects in which I was the producer & knew me to be as strong as i am or that he had only recently taken a favour from my partner @RamSampathLive to create a personal track for him didn’t stop him. #TheHubris of such #men https://t.co/GLHvCsIPDR
— SONA (@sonamohapatra) October 9, 2018
How many women will you apologise to Kailash Kher??? Start now. Will take a lifetime. (4) https://t.co/yZimwUshoE
— SONA (@sonamohapatra) October 9, 2018
The shamelessness of this man. To call himself ‘simple’, ‘devoted to music’ & even claiming amnesia. If this chap could dare try this stunt with me, it’s a disease that he has & I can vouch for not only these two women’s stories but hundreds more he would’ve have preyed on. https://t.co/UaBL2rfz2h
— SONA (@sonamohapatra) October 9, 2018
To all the people accusing me of being so late about bringing up Kailash Kher’s bad behaviour. I say... my life. my choice. Now go, buzz off. (P.S if I started tweeting about every creep I encounter in life here, I would be doing this job full time)
— SONA (@sonamohapatra) October 10, 2018
& the comments section on my Facebook official page only proves my point. I speak up to support the cause of #TimesUp with a genuine story amongst many & obviously not the only experience I’ve had & the mob is out to blame & shame me about my timing instead. Wah #India wah.
— SONA (@sonamohapatra) October 10, 2018
So, if I, having dealt with so many such incidents,public face-offs & therefore having built some immunity over the years,am reeling with the reverse blame, spite & hate in the middle of a particularly tough work day, can only imagine what other women who aren’t used to it suffer
— SONA (@sonamohapatra) October 10, 2018
So many open secrets of our industry spilling out finally. Feels like catharsis. #TimesUp #India https://t.co/5CP6Yel6sn
— SONA (@sonamohapatra) October 10, 2018
Wow! NDTV trivialises the whole series of incidents to ‘flirting’. I’m guessing persistently calling a woman to your hotel room when she’s shown complete revulsion or putting your hand on their thigh more than once is their definition of ‘flirting’. Is that what u feel 2 #India ? https://t.co/fxafl6DvRQ
— SONA (@sonamohapatra) October 10, 2018
Let me clarify, I wasn’t shedding either tears or scared because of Kailash Kher’s behaviour 2 years ago. I have dealt with lots of creeps like him in my life like many others. Only reason I shared this true set of incidents was to corroborate the other women’s claims about him.
— SONA (@sonamohapatra) October 10, 2018
In her Instagram post, she called Kher a ‘serial predator’ and ‘creep’ and also named Anu Malik as well in the same category without mentioning any particular incident.
When contacted, Malik told News18, “She’s meaning some case that had happened long time back. It has nothing to do with me. I don’t know her. I have never worked with her also. She’s just dragging my name into this. I have not even met her.”
Kher was unavailable for a response when reached out.