Actress Neha Saxena alleges she was physically assaulted on the sets of a Tamil movie: 'I received dire threats'

Read full story: Neha Saxena exclusively reveals that she got assaulted on the sets of a Tamil movie, says, "The director threatened and warned me"
South film actress Neha Saxena has recently filed a complaint at the Bangalore police station stating that she was physically assaulted on the sets of a Tamil movie, helmed by a Malayali filmmaker. In a conversation with ETimes, the actress shared her ordeal and revealed that she got threats from the director of the film. She said, 'I received dire threats, and the series of incidents escalated to the verge of me and my assistants fleeing away from the hotel where our accommodation was arranged.' While divulging the details of the assault, she said, 'On the first day of the shoot, I felt the sets were a bit odd, as the people and the certain activities happening there weren’t supposed to be and I felt uncomfortable. The script wasn’t satisfactory, as I had already said no to some ‘unwanted’ intimate scenes and the way my character was getting shaped wasn’t passable. The director started to scare me, told me that the producer has connections with the mafias and they have a torture room in the casino they own, where they can get me tortured, raped, or even shoot me down.' Revealing another incident, she said, 'on September 19, I and my assistants went for dinner, in the same hotel, where our accommodation was arranged. The owner of the hotel approached me, asking if I would like to spend a night with him and a few of his influential friends. That was when I lost it and I informed the director. Instead of confronting the owner, the director told me that even though he quizzes the owner, the latter would deny it. I was getting blank calls at midnight, people would knock on my door and I was petrified.' Neha further recalled the last days of the shoot and revealed that the director’s son, who is the lead actor, strangled her neck and threw her off the stairs. However, Neha claims that this is the only bad instance in her decade-long career in cinema, but this leaves us with many questions regarding the safety of women in the entertainment industry. If an experienced actor has to face such trauma, physical assault and threats, do you seriously think women and especially the newcomers working in cinema are safe? On the work front, Neha Saxena is best known for her film 'Kasaba'.