Kangana Ranaut to Rakhi Sawant: Who Said What in Tanushree Dutta Case

Ever since the story of Bollywood actress Tanushree Dutta’s allegations of harassment on Nana Patekar resurfaced, several Bollywood actors have come on record to comment on the controversy that is getting bigger by the minute.

Here is a compilation of who said what in the case:

Kangana Ranaut: She supported Tanushree and said, “I appreciate her courage to speak about alleged harassment that has been caused to her. It's her and the accused’s fundamental right to speak about their experience of the same situation. Such dialogue is very healthy and it will bring about a lot of awareness. Unfortunately, the way most Indian men are raised by their mothers; they even lack basic etiquettes like lifting the lid before peeing.”

She also said, “Raja beta needs to be told the meaning of ‘NO’ as well. It's in the interest of society that the Raja betas are told what their parents fail to tell them. They must know that the fundamental human rights are the same for men and women. Trust me, it will be news to some of them.”

Ishita Dutta: Tanushree’s younger sister told Bollywoodlife, “What she is trying to achieve is that she is trying to set an example. If something like this happens, it is not your fault. You should not shy away from it. And speak about it."

Talking about her memory of the incident, Ishita said, "I still remember, I was at home and I saw the video; people jumping on the car, banging the glass, the horrified and terrified face of my sister and family. I was so scared because I wasn’t there with them. I didn’t know what to do. That memory will never go away."

Daisy Shah: She was choreographer Ganesh Acharya’s assistant on the song during which Tanushree was allegedly harassed.

Daisy told Bollywood Hungama, “Why would anybody want to talk about sexual harassment that person has gone through and that too after a decade. There must be a lava inside her (Tanushree) that burst out after ten years and why not! I mean she has gone through it and she should definitely speak up.”

Talking about the day of the incident, she said, “Oh, there was a lot of ‘hungama’ (noise) that happened on the second half of the day, on the third day of shoot. Something might have gone wrong with her, she went and locked herself in the vanity van for almost 3-4 hours. And then the media was called and then the entire “hoo-haa” happened and Tanushree had a really hard time.”

“Not only Tanushree, everybody shooting at Filmistan had a hard time to get out of the studio in the night. Because everybody’s cars were blocked, and yes Tanushree’s car’s wind-shield cracked,” she added.

Rakhi Sawant: She replaced Tanushree in the song ‘Nathani Utaro’ after she opted out. Rakhi held a press conference on Saturday to comment on the issue. She said, “Ganesh (Acharya) told me she (Tanushree) was part of this song, and that she had already shot for a bit, but for the past four-five hours, she had locked herself in the van and was unresponsive. I asked her makeup and hair team what was happening, and they said Tanushree was unconscious for the past three-four hours. I was surprised to learn that she was high on drugs and had fainted.”

Rimi Sen: Defending Nana Patekar, Rimi told Indiatimes, “My experience of working with him was all good, except that I felt he was slightly lonely in life, which is why he sometimes got a bit frustrated. He was short-tempered but not a sexual offender. Yes, I noticed that he loved the company of women, maybe because he was lonely. But he always treated me well. In fact, he treated me like his daughter. Also, we should know his side of the story before jumping to any conclusion. A lot depends on the women of the industry and their ambition. If you are talking about the #MeToo movement, there are many offenders, including the 90’s stars.”

Talking about Tanushree, she said, “She is a good girl and she is honest. She has never craved unnecessary attention by blaming people without any reason. If she claims this thing, she may be right but it depends on exactly what resulted to the incident between Nana and her.”

Simi Garewal: The veteran actress and chat show host tweeted, “#TanushreeDutta I've heard horror stories thru the years of this predatory jungle. Some girls became stars. Others disappeared quietly. Yes they took away your career. They darkened 10 years of your life. But they can't take away your voice & your courage!!”

Sonam Kapoor: Supporting Tanushree, the Neerja star wrote on Twitter, “I believe #TanushreeDatta and @janiceseq85 recollection of the account. Janice is my friend, and she is anything but an exaggerator or a liar. And it’s up to us to stand together.”

Sonam further said, “Many of my co-workers, female and male have been harassed and bullied, but it’s their story to tell. If we don’t encourage their voices and instead vilify and question them, how will victims ever become survivors? Let them speak up! Stand up with them.”

Koena Mitra: The actress, who started her acting career around the same time as Tanushree, told Bollwoodlife, “Let's be honest, we need this ‘Gundagiri’ to stop! We need to stop the men in the industry from dictating the narrative. How can one producer write the destiny of a million aspirations who want to join the industry? How can one big male actor call the shots and decide who can and cannot be a working actress? This attitude is sickening.”

Shilpa Shetty: The actress-entrepreneur told ANI, “I don’t know what happened exactly. But I think there shouldn't be any kind of violence or pressure on any person, whether male or female, at workplace. I feel pained that she has been through so much of trauma.”