MUMBAI: In his reply to the Cine and TV Artists’ Association (CINTAA), actor-social activist Nana Patekar has dismissed all allegations of sexual harassment leveled by actor Tanushree Dutta saying that they are “motivated and malicious”.
Mr Patekar, through his lawyer Aniket Nikar, sent his reply after CINTAA issued a notice to him, acting on a complaint filed by Dutta. Mr Patekar claimed that Dutta did not make any accusations against him in 2008 when the alleged incident took place. As per the allegations leveled by Dutta, Mr Patekar misbehaved with her during the shooting of a song for the film, “Horn ‘Ok’ Pleassss” held that same year. She also claimed that Mr Patekar and the film’s producer threatened her and goons were summoned, after which they damaged her car.
Mr Patekar’s lawyer filed his reply which read, “My client (Mr Patekar) denies in toto (completely) the baseless and unsubstantiated allegations, insinuations leveled by Dutta. Neither did he (Mr Patekar) outrage, much less misbehave, with Dutta during the shooting of the said song, nor did he interfere with anyone during the shooting.”
The reply said that Mr Patekar had been subjected to mental harassment due to the “motivated and malicious” vilification campaign. It added how the senior actor had not only won several national awards but was also known for his “philanthropic work”.
Dutta has claimed that she filed a complaint with CINTAA after the alleged incident in 2008 but no action was taken. Recently, she spoke about the same even as the MeToo campaign caught on across the country, after which she lodged a criminal case against the actor and others and even sent a fresh letter to CINTAA.
