Tanushree Dutta reveals to be targeted badly after #MeToo, no work opportunities after 6 years

In 2018, the Hindi film industry was rocked by the #MeToo movement when Tanushree Dutta accused Nana Patekar of sexual misconduct. The case reported was from the sets of their film Horn Ok Pleassss, sparking a wave of similar allegations. Since then, the movement has been making headlines, including the release of a 235-page report by Justice K Hema Committee on sexual harassment in the Malayalam film industry.

One might expect #MeToo to have a positive impact on the film industry, however, six years later Tanushree Dutta has no work opportunities. The consequences of speaking up have been severe, with Malayalam actors and founding members of Women in Cinema Collective Parvathy Thiruvothu and Rima Kallingal reporting that their work opportunities dried up.

In an exclusive interview with News18 Showsha, Tanushree Dutta reveals being approached by two #MeToo accused to work on their films. However, she declined as she didn’t want to set a wrong precedent.

Tanushree Dutta reveals to be targeted badly after #MeToo

During the interview with News18 Showsha, Tanushree said, “What’s needed is for every single actor willing to make a little sacrifice for a cause. In December 2018, I was offered a movie by a very big producer. She has made some of the biggest films. But her director was a #MeToo accused and I promptly refused the opportunity. Who’s losing in this bargain? Me. I haven’t done film work in a long, long time.”

Dutta adds, “I do appearances and brand events only. I want to do lead roles in films about women’s empowerment. But since his name came up during #MeToo, I didn’t want to take that offer up. Such an episode happened again after a couple of years. In between, I had signed some decent projects but I was targeted very badly and my projects were sabotaged.”

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Tanushree Dutta shares incident with film director

In another incident, last year, she was offered a film by a director from Kolkata. The film was supposed to help her make a comeback. But she turned that down too on a similar pretext. “I liked the story and the role was fantastic. I thought it was a great opportunity for me to resume my acting career with a Bengali film. A week later, I came to know that his name too had come up during #MeToo. The narration had happened and I had also put forth some conditions, which he had agreed upon. I was happy that someone was working diligently on the script to make my character more prominent,” she recalls.

As per Tanushree, this was an opportunity for the filmmaker to whitewash his image following allegations of sexual misconduct. “Why did he come to me? He thought that #MeToo ko kaafi time ho gaya hai and that if he cast me in his film, it would give the impression that I was siding with him. He wanted to change his image through me. Maybe, he also thought that since no one is working with him in Bengal, he would work with a Bollywood actress and create a bigger profile for himself,” she states.

Tanushree Dutta let go of the film

She continues, “There was no case against him but the whole industry had believed the woman. Since Bengal is an open-minded society, it’s understandable why they believed her and supported her. And if I did that film, it would look like the leader of #MeToo is now supporting an accused. I politely refused. There was an agency involved. I told them that I wanted to let the film go. I even consulted my dad to get his opinion on the matter and he told me that it wouldn’t be ethically right to take up a film with someone who is an accused.”

Tanushree Dutta on giving up work

But giving up work opportunities seems like a small price to pay as the Aashiq Banaya Aapne and Bhagam Bhag remark. Dutta said, “I couldn’t bring myself to do that film. I made that sacrifice when I needed work the most. Movies are my passion and I had built a career for myself through so much hard work but all of it was taken away from me. If I can display such integrity and honour and make these small sacrifices, others should also do it to bring about some change.”

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