Star kids don't have to go through sexual harassment, outsiders do: Actress Esha Gupta

Filmmaker Sajid Khan is one of the high-profile film personalities to be accused of sexual harassment.

A former assistant director, Saloni Chopra, journalist Karishma Upadhyay, and Humshakals (2014) actress Rachel White have narrated their horror stories about Khan.

Following the allegations, Khan stepped down as director of Housefull 4 after actor Akshay Kumar, one of the stars of the film, vowed not to work with 'proven offenders' and called for an investigation. 

Since the #MeToo movement gathered steam in India, many celebrities, including Aamir Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Priyanka Chopra and Kangana Ranaut, have spoken in support of the victims and condemned the offenders.

Now, actress and model Esha Gupta has posted a tweet saying "sexual harassment shouldn't be tolerated".

A few hours after Sajid Khan stepped down as director of Housefull 4, Gupta posted a couple of tweets that seemed to suggest she had been harassed by the director.

In the first tweet, Gupta just mentioned the word ‘Karma’.

And followed this up with with a more generic tweet condemning sexual harassment and specifically pointed towards sending of lewd text messages and passing of lewd comments.

“Sexual harassment shouldn’t be tolerated or sending dirty texts or passing lewd comments or verbal abuse. Don’t question the integrity of a woman as to why she spoke now, stand with her for the courage it took to speak," she wrote. 

Cinestaan.com contacted Gupta to ask if she was making a general statement or sharing a #MeToo story of her own?

“No, this was a general statement," the actress responded. "I think a woman should stand by a woman, a man shouldn’t stand by a woman. I’m just glad that everyone is taking a stand.

"Lot of people are now raising questions why girls who were harassed before are raising a voice now. They are raising a voice now because, being an outsider, it is really difficult, but now they are speaking up (sic),” she said.

Asked if she had to face any kind of harassment, she replied, “No, that is because I have a fuck-off attitude. If you mess with me then I’ll really fuck you up. It is very simple. I think I got lucky, but that's the upbringing I have had. If someone punches you, you slap him back. That is what I have been through.”

Gupta worked under Sajid Khan's direction in the dud Humshakals (2014). Was there any moment when he made her uncomfortable?

"I mean not such harassment, but there were incidents where he and I got into arguments, but as I said, even if it is just a statement, or just like abusing, that is also harassing a person. Like I said, only outsiders will know this. The insiders [stars kids] don’t go through this. The so-called nepotism kids say, 'Oh, we also have to go through it’. No, you don’t have to go through it, but we [outsiders] have to,” Gupta explained.