From Nana Patekar to Alok Nath, Major #MeToo moments that rocked the Bollywood in the year 2018

Finally, in the year 2018, Bollywood broke its silence on the issues of sexual harassment of women in the film industry. For years, women have been treated like entities and have been subjected to an end number of harassments inside the film industry whose accounts never came out. These incidents came to light nearly a year after the #MeToo movement plagued the Hollywood film industry. Here is a list of the horrific #MeToo moments that plagued Bollywood in the year of 2018 -

From where it all started, actress Tanushree Dutta accused veteran actor Nana Patekar of sexually harassing her while working on the sets of the 2009 film ‘Horn Ok Pleasss’. The actress also levelled allegations on choreographer Ganesh Acharya, director Rakesh Sarang and producer Sami Siddiqui. The former Miss India Universe also claimed that she was sexually harassed by her 2005 film 'Chocolate' director Vivek Agnihotri during the making of the film. The actress also revealed that she was subjected to political intimidation after she made the allegations. Tanushree's allegations started the nationwide tally of sexual harassments and assaults cases which caught prominent filmmakers, media personalities and politicians in the middle of the firestorm.

Three years after first accusing director Vikas Bahl of sexual harassment, a former women employee of Phantom Films once again come out during the #MeToo storm and gave the horrifying details of what she was subjected to. The allegations eventually led up to the dissolution of the production company. The four partners at production house set up by directors Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl, Vikramaditya Motwane and producer Madhu Mantena had come to know that one of them have been accused of sexually assaulting a women employee while on the promotions of a film in 2015. But none of them took a solid stance against the accused and left the woman to suffer alone in the trauma.

Veteran writer-producer Vinta Nanda stirred up a storm when she accused the veteran actor Alok Nath, who is popularly known the Sanskaari Babu, of raping her almost two decades ago. The writer also alleged that she was sexually assaulted on multiple occasions by the actor. The filmmaker said she waited for almost 19 years for this moment to arrive. The actor had sexually assaulted Nanda after he was fired from the 1993 TV show for misbehaving with its lead actress. Following her accusations, the police had booked Alok Nath under rape charges. The Cine and TV Artists Association also expelled Alok Nath in view of the allegations against him.

As the #MeToo movement gained momentum across India, many women from the film industry came forward with their horrific stories. Director Sajid Khan was accused by three women for sexual harassment. The women include an actor, assistant director, and a journalist. The three women came out in open to narrate their horrific tales of how they were subjected to the vicious eyes of the filmmaker. The director is known for his films such as Housefull and Humshakals. The accounts led to the cancellation of the film 'Housefull 4' which was rolling while the director was accused. It saw Sajid Khan eventually quitting the film.

National award winner writer-lyricist Varun Grover was accused of misbehaving by an unnamed woman. The incident occurred when Varun Grover was a student at BHU and a junior had accused him. However, the filmmaker categorically denied all the allegations made against him. The allegations also led a popular TV show in jeopardy. However, later the online streaming giant cleared its association with the writer for the second season of the show after it conducted its own internal investigation.

Three women had accused actor-filmmaker Rajat Kapoor of sexual misconduct. Journalist Sandhya Menon had shared a post wherein two women had earlier accused the 'Kapoor & Sons' actor of alleged sexual harassment. Later an unidentified third woman also accused the actor of trying to forcibly kiss her several times. One of the women, a journalist, accused Kapoor of misbehaving and asking about her body measurements while interviewing. Another woman narrated an incident where the actor would keep calling her for a film's shoot and asked if she knew an empty house.

Singers Kailash Kher and Anu Malik were also accused of sexual misconduct in the #MeToo firestorm. Singer Sona Mohapatra levelled the allegations against both the singers. Sona said Kailash kept his hand on her thigs and said she was beautiful. Two women journalists had also accused Kher of placing his hand on their thighs and another woman also alleged that he repeatedly invited her to his room in Kolkata. The singer also accused musician Anu Malik of repeatedly calling her at unearthly hours and insulting her in front of her husband.

Filmmaker Subhash Ghai was accused of raping a woman after intoxicating her drink several years ago. The woman alleged that Ghai often invited her to late-night sessions at his place of work and forcibly tried to kiss her and touch her inappropriately. She alleged that the filmmaker intoxicated her drink and drove her to a hotel where he allegedly raped her. However, the filmmaker denied all the accusations levelled against him.