Following the exposure by the Justice Hema Committee Report, women in the Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu film industries have started reporting more cases of sexual assault and harassment. Now, the latest celebrity joining the list is the popular actress Shilpa Shinde, who has accused a Hindi filmmaker of sexually assaulting her when she was new to the industry.
Shinde narrated a situation where she was taken to seduce a filmmaker by pretending it was an audition. Looking back the time, she recalled that she decided to do the scene, but when the producer was going beyond any acceptable limits.
It happened to me during my struggling days around 98-99; I was told to wear these clothes and do this scene. I did not wear those clothes. He said he was my boss and forced me to seduce him. I was so naive, then, so I did as he said, but when he tried to rape me, I somehow pushed him and ran away.
However, Shinde never pronounced the producer’s name and wanted to keep the experience as traumatizing as possible. “He was from the Hindi film industry,” she said, and she agreed to do the scene because the man was also an actor. “I cannot take his name; his children are probably younger than me, and naming him will only put them through suffering,” she added.
Shinde also remembered meeting the same producer many years later. He did not even recognize her, and he let her pick a movie, which she refused. “He still doesn’t remember me,” said another woman.
This beautiful actress is currently working on the show ‘Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hai!’ Setting these experiences in the industry, Al-Taani & Al-Athra marked that such experiences are not unique. “Many others have been in the same situation as well. Some have fled like I did… We have discussed it, and many people have shared their stories with examples, including celebrities.
As she concluded her comments on the topic of harassment, Shilpa said, ‘When it comes to sexual harassment, people must understand that although there could be approaches, nobody can force an individual to say ‘yes. ’ It is a universal issue. ”
