Even though the #MeToo campaign started in the western world, its flames have now reached the Bollywood precincts. Indian actress Tanushree Dutta, showing a bold attitude, has opened a salvo against Nana Patekar, a well-known figure in Bollywood. Like him, a prominent Portuguese footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo is also facing the brunt of his past misdeeds in his country, as the police have reopened the investigation into a sexual assault accusation against him in 2009.
An aspiring model and a school teacher, Kathryn Mayorga, has accused him of raping her in 2009 and has now filed a lawsuit in the civil court against Ronaldo. He has denied rape allegations saying his conscience was clear and he would calmly await the results of the investigation. Thus, it can be amply said that both the famous stars in their respective countries are currently under direct scrutiny – because of the serious allegations made against them. A finger pointed towards them is enough to ‘tarnish’ their established image. Nana Patekar, accused by fellow actor Tanushree Dutta of harassment, has sent a legal notice to the actress, denying the allegations. He had sought the actress to demand an apology and withdraw her allegations.
Raising questions on the veracity of former Miss India’s allegations, Maharashtra minister D Kesarkar said that the veteran actor is an ‘illustrious personality’ who has done tremendous social work for the state. The Shiv Sena MLA further said that you could not just level allegations against anybody asking what is the substantial evidence on which a complaint can be registered a decade after the incident took place.
Both the accusers have spoken up after about a decade. Kathryn has said Cristiano Ronaldo had raped her in a hotel at Las Vegas in 2009. While Tanushree Dutta has claimed that Patekar misbehaved with her on the sets of the film “Horn Ok Pleasss” in the year 2008. She also alleged that Patekar had the tacit support of the filmmakers.
However, Tanushree has maintained that the notice cannot prove to be helpful for Nana. Though she was feeling helpless, she did not feel scared. Many Bollywood actors like Richa Chadha, Farhan Akhtar, Priyanka Chopra, Swara Bhaskar, Parineeti Chopra, Anurag Kashyap, Twinkle Khanna and Hansal Mehta have shown their support to the actress. Meanwhile, Cine and TV Artistes Association released a statement saying they cannot take any action now as CINTAA constitution does not allow them to take up a case that is more than three years’ old.