WATCH: Tanushree Dutta Alleges Ongoing Harassment at Home Since MeToo Movement, Files Police Complaint
WATCH: Tanushree Dutta Alleges Ongoing Harassment at Home Since MeToo Movement, Files Police Complaint
Actress breaks down on Instagram, says she is “not well” after years of stress and alleged intimidation following MeToo revelations
Actress Tanushree Dutta, who reignited India’s MeToo movement in 2018 with her allegations against actor Nana Patekar, has once again raised serious concerns about ongoing harassment she claims to be facing in her own home. In a recent Instagram video, the Aashiq Banaya Aapne star appeared visibly distressed as she described a series of troubling incidents that she says have deeply affected her health and livelihood.
“I am being harassed in my own house. I just called the cops and they have asked me to come to the police station to lodge a proper complaint. I will probably go tomorrow or day after. I am not well,” she said tearfully during the video. “I have been harassed so much in the past five years that I have fallen sick.”
Dutta claimed the harassment has not only left her physically unwell but has also interfered with her ability to work or manage her daily life. “My entire house has been messy. I can’t hire maids because they plant them in my house. I’ve had terrible experiences with maids who come in and steal and do other things. People bang the door of my house. I am being troubled, please help me,” she appealed to her followers.
She further elaborated on her health condition, revealing that she has been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome as a result of long-term stress and anxiety. “Today I was so unwell… this was going on all day and evening way past acceptable and allowed hours. Yesterday I posted, and today this? Ab samajh jao sab log ki what I’ve been dealing with. Aur bhi bohot kuch hai jo FIR mein mention karoongi (There’s a lot more which I will include in the FIR),” she added.
Dutta also alleged that she had once discovered a maid mixing something in her drinking water. “After I hired a maid, I started to be sick often. I’m usually a morning person, but then I started to feel lazy. I avoided drinking the water at home and I began to feel okay. The maid was mixing something in my water. I’ve caught them red-handed calling up someone before and after entering my house.”
This is not the first time Dutta has spoken publicly about being targeted. Over the years, she has recounted incidents of being followed, stalked by strangers, or harassed at hotels during her temple visits. She believes these incidents are linked to the accusations she made in 2018, when she claimed that Nana Patekar sexually harassed her during the filming of Horn ‘Ok’ Pleassss in 2009. Dutta had filed a complaint with the Cine & TV Artists Association (CINTAA) in 2008, but no action was reportedly taken.
In the same year, she also accused filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri of inappropriate behavior on the set of Chocolate, alleging he asked her to remove her clothes and dance alongside actor Irrfan Khan. Both Patekar and Agnihotri denied the allegations, and Patekar was later given a clean chit in the matter, according to reports.
Dutta ended her video with a promise to formally lodge a complaint soon. Her repeated claims of intimidation and her deteriorating health have once again raised questions about the treatment of women who speak out and the lack of follow-up action in cases that initiated movements like MeToo in India.
