Nana Patekar calls Tanushree Dutta's allegations 'motivated and malicious'

Actor Nana Patekar has dismissed actress Tanushree Dutta's allegations of sexual harassment against him as 'malicious and motivated'. The actor's statement was a reply to the notice sent to him by the Cine and Television Artist's Association (CINTAA) in the matter. 

In the reply, Patekar has also claimed that Dutta had not complained against him back in 2008 when the incident took place. 

On 25 September, Dutta accused Patekar of sexually harassing and intimidating her during a shoot sequence on the sets of Horn OK Pleassss (2009). The actress also named director Rakesh Sarang, producer Samee Siddiqui, and choreographer Ganesh Acharya of being complicit in allowing Patekar to harass her. 

PTI, a news agency, quoted Patekar's lawyer, Aniket Nikam, as saying, "My client denies in toto the baseless and unsubstantiated allegations, insinuation levelled by Dutta." Nikam added, "Neither he outraged, much less misbehaved, with Dutta during the shooting of the said song, nor did he interfere with anyone during the shooting." 

The reply also states that Dutta's allegations have damaged Patekar's reputation "beyond repair", and adding that CINTAA should not entertain "such groundless accusations, particularly when such allegations are levelled after almost a decade."

Patekar has already sent a notice to Dutta asking her to apologise for the false claims. Dutta, in turn, has filed a police report detailing the nature and extent of her harassment by Patekar. 

The actress has also received a legal notice from director Vivek Agnihotri, whom she accused of misbehaviour and bad language while on the sets of Chocolate (2009). 

Dutta's allegations were the first of the many shocking accounts of sexual harassment that have since emerged from the film industry. Several prominent names like Sajid Khan, Anu Malik, Vikas Bahl, Bhushan Kumar and Subhash Kapoor among others have been hit with accusations.