Mumbai: Tanushree Dutta files police complaint against Nana Patekar and others
The actress will record her statement with the police on Sunday.
Actor Tanushree Dutta on Saturday filed a police complaint against senior actor Nana Patekar, who allegedly sexually harassed her on the sets of a film in 2008, PTI reported. The complaint, which was filed in Oshiwara police station in Mumbai, also names choreographer Ganesh Acharya, producer Sameer Siddiqui and director Rakesh Sarang.
Dutta is scheduled to record her statement with the police on Sunday. She said she had filed the complaint seeking an FIR under Sections 354, 354A, 34 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code.
In an interview to Zoom TV on September 25, the actress accused Patekar of intimidating and harassing her on the sets of the film Horn ‘Ok’ Pleassss, which was released in 2009. She said Patekar used to harass her on the film’s set and had asked the director to include him in an “intimate step” in what was supposed to be the actress’ solo dance performance. In her police complaint, Dutta said she had complained to Acharya, Siddiqui and Sarang but the new dance steps were still introduced to allow Patekar to touch her inappropriately.
Patekar, who had denied the allegations then, once again reiterated his innocence on Saturday. “Whatever I had to say, I said 10 years back,” he told reporters at Mumbai airport. “What is a lie, is a lie. I will hold a press conference soon.”
Patekar has sent a legal notice to Dutta, asking her to apologise for making false claims. The actress has also received a notice from director Vivek Agnihotri, who allegedly asked her to take off her clothes and dance to give co-star Irrfan Khan his cues while they were shooting Chocolate (2005). The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has also filed a defamation case against Dutta for allegedly making false claims about MNS chief Raj Thackeray. Suspected MNS workers allegedly damaged her car and intimidated her during protests on the set of Horn ‘Ok’ Pleassss.