Celebrated Bollywood choreographer Shiamak Davar, who runs a chain of popular dance schools in six countries, has been accused of sexual abuse by two former dance students in Canada. The two male students – 40-year-old Percy Shroff and 33-year-old Jimmy Mistry – were also members of Davar’s VRRP Spiritual Learning group, which they say is a a sect that holds Davar to be a guru and leader.
According to a report by CBC News on Thursday, Shroff and Mistry have filed lawsuits in Canada’s British Columbia Supreme Court claiming that Davar touched them in appropriately for several years and abused his authority as their spiritual leader.
Although Scroll was unable to reach the 53-year-old choreographer directly, Davar has responded in writing to both the lawsuits, denying all the allegations and claiming they have been made with the intention of ruining his “character, reputation and affiliated organisations”.
The allegations
Before they moved to Canada, both Mistry and Shroff lived in Mumbai, where they had joined Davar’s dance school – Shiamak Davar’s Institute of the Performing Arts. Mistry joined at the age of 17 and Shroff at 16. Both were soon selected to be in Davar’s core group of dancers and members of his dance company.
In his lawsuit, Mistry claims that as a member of the core dancing group, he was subjected to several months of a “grooming process” in which Davar manipulated him into “sexual submission”. He alleges that Davar would touch him and other boys flirtatiously and invite a clique of male dancers to his home and ask them to lie in bed with him and stroke his body.
Mistry claims that at that time, he thought that Davar’s behaviour with him and the other boys “must be normal”, because he had “created and environment in which his physical interactions with young male dancers and students became the norm”.
The spiritual sect
Both Mistry and Shroff allege that Davar had initiated them into his VRRP Spiritual Learning group, which they described as a sect. It was founded by the now-deceased Mumbai resident Khorshed Bhavnagri who, in 1980, lost her two sons in a car crash and later claimed to receive messages from their spirits through “automatic writing”. Bhavnagri compiled these messages into a book, Laws of the Spirit World, which Davar is known to distribute and propagate amongst his staff and dance students.
In the late 1990s, Bhavnagri’s sect allegedly began to propagate the belief that all its followers should move to a particular neighbourhood in Vancouver, Canada, to avoid an apocalypse that occurred every 7,000 years. Many sect members followed those instructions, though exact numbers are not known.
In Mumbai, Mistry claims he was intrigued by the spiritual principles of the group and began to look up to Davar as his guru. However, he has alleged that Davar soon “escalated his physical contact” with Mistry and other boys in the clique, and his interactions became “more overtly sexual”. This involved kissing them on the mouth, touching their genitals over their clothing and making them touch his own, he claimed in his lawsuit.
In 2004, Davar asked Mistry to move to Canada where he was eventually made an instructor at Davar’s dance school in Vancouver. There, Mistry claims in the suit, Davar abused his position as his spiritual leader and began to control aspects of his personal life as well, including “trying to separate [Mistry] from his girlfriend”, who was also a part of the spiritual group. After a “final sexual incident” in 2008, in which Davar allegedly touched Mistry’s genitals, Mistry left the sect.
The other lawsuit
Shroff’s allegations in his lawsuit are similar – he too has accused Davar of a manipulative “grooming process” for “sexual submission” which involved hugging, kissing and pressurising the teenaged Shroff to shower with him.
Shroff, who is now openly gay, claims that Davar would make sexual advances and forcibly talk to him about being “that way” at a time when he was just 16 or 17 and not conscious of being homosexual.
Shroff repeatedly claims in his lawsuit that he submitted to a lot of Davar’s advances despite being uncomfortable because the latter linked it to the spiritual development of his soul. At the age of 17, Shroff alleges that Davar once made him visit his bedroom, lie on top of him and attempted to sexually assault him before Shroff stopped him.
In 1998, Davar allegedly persuaded VRRP’s leader, Khorshed Bhavnagri, to convince Shroff to move to Vancouver. Shroff claims Bhavnagri also directed him to marry a woman. In Vancouver, Shroff’s wife and, later, his son, were also initiated into the VRRP group.
After Bhavnagri’s death in 2007, Davar took over the spiritual group. In the later years, Shroff claims there were a few more incidents of Davar’s sexual advances, which Shroff deferred to despite being ashamed because he thought of his guru as a “great man doing God’s work”.
Shroff has also accused Davar of first making him admit his homosexuality to his wife and later, after he separated from his wife, ordering them to get back together because “choosing to be gay” was against God. Shroff quit the VRRP group in 2010 but is concerned about the safety of his son, who is still a part of the group. He has sought a court order to prevent Davar from interacting with his son.
Davar’s response
While categorically dismissing all of the allegations in both lawsuits, Davar has submitted to the court that he is the “custodian” and not the leader of the spiritual sect, and does not consider himself anyone’s spiritual guru.
In his written responses, Davar has stated that he has never had any “inappropriate sexual relations” with any of his students, that allegations of “sexual grooming” are completely false and that he has never manipulated or threatened anyone through his spirituality.
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According to a report by CBC News on Thursday, Shroff and Mistry have filed lawsuits in Canada’s British Columbia Supreme Court claiming that Davar touched them in appropriately for several years and abused his authority as their spiritual leader.
Although Scroll was unable to reach the 53-year-old choreographer directly, Davar has responded in writing to both the lawsuits, denying all the allegations and claiming they have been made with the intention of ruining his “character, reputation and affiliated organisations”.
The allegations
Before they moved to Canada, both Mistry and Shroff lived in Mumbai, where they had joined Davar’s dance school – Shiamak Davar’s Institute of the Performing Arts. Mistry joined at the age of 17 and Shroff at 16. Both were soon selected to be in Davar’s core group of dancers and members of his dance company.
In his lawsuit, Mistry claims that as a member of the core dancing group, he was subjected to several months of a “grooming process” in which Davar manipulated him into “sexual submission”. He alleges that Davar would touch him and other boys flirtatiously and invite a clique of male dancers to his home and ask them to lie in bed with him and stroke his body.
Mistry claims that at that time, he thought that Davar’s behaviour with him and the other boys “must be normal”, because he had “created and environment in which his physical interactions with young male dancers and students became the norm”.
The spiritual sect
Both Mistry and Shroff allege that Davar had initiated them into his VRRP Spiritual Learning group, which they described as a sect. It was founded by the now-deceased Mumbai resident Khorshed Bhavnagri who, in 1980, lost her two sons in a car crash and later claimed to receive messages from their spirits through “automatic writing”. Bhavnagri compiled these messages into a book, Laws of the Spirit World, which Davar is known to distribute and propagate amongst his staff and dance students.
In the late 1990s, Bhavnagri’s sect allegedly began to propagate the belief that all its followers should move to a particular neighbourhood in Vancouver, Canada, to avoid an apocalypse that occurred every 7,000 years. Many sect members followed those instructions, though exact numbers are not known.
In Mumbai, Mistry claims he was intrigued by the spiritual principles of the group and began to look up to Davar as his guru. However, he has alleged that Davar soon “escalated his physical contact” with Mistry and other boys in the clique, and his interactions became “more overtly sexual”. This involved kissing them on the mouth, touching their genitals over their clothing and making them touch his own, he claimed in his lawsuit.
In 2004, Davar asked Mistry to move to Canada where he was eventually made an instructor at Davar’s dance school in Vancouver. There, Mistry claims in the suit, Davar abused his position as his spiritual leader and began to control aspects of his personal life as well, including “trying to separate [Mistry] from his girlfriend”, who was also a part of the spiritual group. After a “final sexual incident” in 2008, in which Davar allegedly touched Mistry’s genitals, Mistry left the sect.
The other lawsuit
Shroff’s allegations in his lawsuit are similar – he too has accused Davar of a manipulative “grooming process” for “sexual submission” which involved hugging, kissing and pressurising the teenaged Shroff to shower with him.
Shroff, who is now openly gay, claims that Davar would make sexual advances and forcibly talk to him about being “that way” at a time when he was just 16 or 17 and not conscious of being homosexual.
Shroff repeatedly claims in his lawsuit that he submitted to a lot of Davar’s advances despite being uncomfortable because the latter linked it to the spiritual development of his soul. At the age of 17, Shroff alleges that Davar once made him visit his bedroom, lie on top of him and attempted to sexually assault him before Shroff stopped him.
In 1998, Davar allegedly persuaded VRRP’s leader, Khorshed Bhavnagri, to convince Shroff to move to Vancouver. Shroff claims Bhavnagri also directed him to marry a woman. In Vancouver, Shroff’s wife and, later, his son, were also initiated into the VRRP group.
After Bhavnagri’s death in 2007, Davar took over the spiritual group. In the later years, Shroff claims there were a few more incidents of Davar’s sexual advances, which Shroff deferred to despite being ashamed because he thought of his guru as a “great man doing God’s work”.
Shroff has also accused Davar of first making him admit his homosexuality to his wife and later, after he separated from his wife, ordering them to get back together because “choosing to be gay” was against God. Shroff quit the VRRP group in 2010 but is concerned about the safety of his son, who is still a part of the group. He has sought a court order to prevent Davar from interacting with his son.
Davar’s response
While categorically dismissing all of the allegations in both lawsuits, Davar has submitted to the court that he is the “custodian” and not the leader of the spiritual sect, and does not consider himself anyone’s spiritual guru.
In his written responses, Davar has stated that he has never had any “inappropriate sexual relations” with any of his students, that allegations of “sexual grooming” are completely false and that he has never manipulated or threatened anyone through his spirituality.