Actors Deepika Amin and and Renuka Shahane have come out in support of writer-director Vinta Nanda, who has accused actor Alok Nath of molestation and rape, with their own stories of harassment involving Mr. Nath.
Ms. Amin took to Facebook to recount her interactions with Mr. Nath. “Everyone in the industry knows that Alok Nath is an obnoxious drunkard who harasses women. Years ago on a telefilm outdoor shoot he tried to barge into my room. He slobbered over women, drunk and created a scene. The unit rallied around me and made sure I was safe. I was quite young but I still remember vividly how horrible he was,” she wrote.
In an interview to First Post, Ms. Shahane said, “People say he can’t really handle his drinks. When he is drunk, he becomes a totally different person. His Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde personality is known to his colleagues. I heard many such incidents after I had finished working with him in Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994), and tele-serial Imtihaan, in which he played my father.”
In light of these accusations, the Producers Guild of India has set up a committee, headed by Sneha Rajani, to address issues of sexual harassment at the workplace. The committee also has producers Ekta Kapoor and Siddharth Roy Kapur, and filmmakers Kiran Rao and Rohan Sippy as members.
The first meeting of the committee was held on Wednesday, where th ey decided to send their members a copy of the Gazette of India notifications issued on sexual harassment of women at workplace. The Guild has also planned to organise awareness workshops in the coming weeks.