MNS supremo Raj Thackeray has said he knew veteran Bollywood actor Nana Patekar very well adding that he was indecent but did not think he could sexually harass women. Actor Tanushree Dutta had accused Patekar of sexually harassing her in 2008 on the sets of Horn Ok Pleassss. Patekar has denied her charges.
Speaking at an event in Maharashtra’s Amravati, the MNS chief also said that the debate over the MeToo movement on Twitter wasn’t right. News agency ANI quoted him as saying, “I know Nana Patekar. He is indecent. He does crazy things but I don’t think he can do such a thing. Court will look into it. What is the media to do with it? #MeToo is a serious matter, the debate over it on Twitter isn’t right.”
According to a report by Hindustan Times, Raj Thackeray said that though Nana Patekar was arrogant, he did not think that the veteran actor will indulge in such activities
“If someone is doing anything wrong to a woman, she should report it immediately and not after ten years,” he said.
It was Tansuhree Dutta, who had first openly spoken about her sexually harassment by Patekar and filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri. This led to a full blown campaign, which has now turned into India’s own MeToo movement. Several top Bollywood names including Alok Nath, Rajat Kapoor, Kailash Kher, Sajid Khan and Vikas Bahl have been accused of sexual misconduct.
Tansuhree had also alleged that when she protested against Patekar’s indecent behaviour in 2008, the producer had hired goons from Thackeray’s party, the MNS, to have her car atatcked with her parents inside it.
On Wednesday, a top minister in the Narendra Modi government, MJ Akbar, had to resign after as many as 20 female journalists came forward to allege that they were sexually harassed by the journalist-turned-politician during his time as the editor of Asian Age and The Telegraph newspapers.
