Model and actor Kate Sharma on Sunday filed a police complaint against filmmaker Subhash Ghai for allegedly molesting her, reported PTI. Sharma, who filed the complaint at Mumbai’s Versova police station, claimed that Ghai forcibly tried to hug and kiss her.
Sharma said he called her to his house on August 6 when, in front of some people, he asked her to give him a massage. “It was shocking for me, but I respected his seniority and agreed,” Sharma said, according to ANI. “I massaged him for two to three minutes and then went to the washroom to wash my hand. He followed me there. He then took me to his room saying he wanted to talk to me about something. However, he grabbed me and tried to kiss and hug me.”
Sharma said when she told her she wanted to leave, the director threatened her. “He said that he will not launch me if I do not stay with him for the night,” Sharma added.
Ghai said he was a “great supporter” of the #MeToo movement, but that some people were trying to harm his reputation. “I hope that those taking undue advantage of the movement do not end up diluting it for their own short-time fame,” the 73-year-old director said on Twitter. “Anyway my lawyers will take care of the matter.”
Last week, an unidentified woman had accused Ghai of drugging and raping her. The woman claimed that Ghai promised to be her mentor in the industry and often invited her to his flat. She accused him of touching her inappropriately before spiking her drink. She alleged he took her to a hotel and raped her there.
Denying the allegations, Ghai had said that it had become a fashion to malign a well-known person. “If she claims this way, she should go to the court of law and prove it,” Ghai told PTI. “Justice will be done or I will go for defamation certainly.”
Since October 5, several women have used social media to make allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against several journalists, media professionals, actors, writers and others. Actor Nana Patekar has been accused by actress Tanushree Dutta of harassment during a film shoot in 2008. Actor Alok Nath is accused of rape and sexual harassment. While directors Sajid Khan and Vikas Bahl have been accused of sexual harassment, actor and filmmaker Rajat Kapoor has been accused of sexual misconduct.
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