FIR filed against Nana Patekar, three others in Tanushree Dutta case

MUMBAI: In an FIR against veteran actor Nana Patekar and three others filed late on Wednesday with Oshiwara police, actor Tanushree Dutta has accused the four of sexual harassment and alleged that they had threatened a boycott on her by the film industry while implicating her in a false police case in 2008. Those named include Patekar, choreographer Ganesh Acharya, producer Samee Siddique and director Rakesh Saarang, all of whom were involved in the making of the movie 'Horn OK Please' during which the incident took place.
Mumbai police spokesperson DCP Manjunath Singe told TOI: "Oshiwara police have registered an FIR against the four accused on Wednesday. The probe has begun and action will be taken accordingly. A case under the IPC sections 354 (outraging modesty) and 509 (a word, a gesture or an act intended to outrage modesty) has been registered against the four."
In the FIR, a copy of which is with TOI, Dutta alleged harassment during the four-day shoot for a song between March 23 and 26, 2008. Dutta said she had recommended choreographer Ganesh Acharya for the song. "The director and the producer of the movie had informed me then that the item number would be a solo song. I had clearly mentioned before the start of the shoot that I would not enact or perform any lewd or uncomfortable steps. The producer and the director also committed to ensuring my comfort level with the clothes and dance steps. They said that Nana Patekar would only have one line in the song, which they would shoot separately. However, he was present on all four days and kept touching me under the pretext of teaching me how to dance."
The recording of her statements lasted over five hours. The FIR says she had complained about Patekar's behaviour to the producer, director and choreographer and they had reassured her but later tried to force her into performing an intimate dance step with him. "Between the shots, there were around 100 supporting staff, including junior artistes, dancers and others. Against my will and consent, Nana started grabbing me by the arms and pushing me around on the pretext of teaching me how to dance, even though he was not the choreographer... He was touching (me) indecently and unnecessarily in front of everybody, but nobody objected and all were complicit in this behaviour by being silent spectators."
After she walked off the sets, Dutta said they allegedly threatened to file a complaint against her when she lodged a case against them for rioting and damaging her car. Dutta further said police had not added sexual harassment sections or mentioned the four names in the FIR lodged in 2008. She said she had not understood the FIR then since it was in Marathi.
Dutta said she had also registered a sexual harassment complaint with the Cine and TV Artistes Association on March 28, 2008, but closed the matter without investigation.
In her complaint, Dutta revealed that actor Daisy Shah, who was an assistant choreographer then, had witnessed Patekar trying to touch her during rehearsals. "Shah will be one of the witnesses in the case and she will be called to record her statement," said an Oshiwara police officer. Shah did not respond to calls or text messages on Thursday. Dutta's lawyer Nitin Satpute, too, did not respond.