My Future Lies There: Tanushree Dutta on Returning to the US

The actor has accused Nana Patekar of sexual harassment.

Tanushree Dutta has accused Nana Patekar of sexual harassment. 

(Photo Courtesy: Facebook)

Trigger Warning: The following article contains details about sexual assault and violence. The details may be traumatic for survivors. Reader discretion is advised.

Actor Tanushree Dutta sparked what was to become Bollywood’s #MeToo movement after she accused Nana Patekar of sexual harassment in an interview with Zoom TV. She filed an FIR against him in October.

According to a report in Mid-day, the actor is ready to go back “home” to the United States after spending five months in India. She was quoted as saying,

My future lies there. I will head out early next year. When I came down to Mumbai, I thought I would go back after a month, but it’s been five months

Tanushree Dutta, Actor

When asked whether her decision was informed by the fact that the #MeToo movement in India seems to have lost its initial steam, she said, “

I do not look at it as now hot, now cold. Such things are a revolution. What matters is its impact in the future. It has created an atmosphere where sexual predators are aware that they cannot get away with misbehaviour. It came as a surprise when women began calling out the sexual predators. I am aware that #MeToo cannot be front page news every day.

Tanushree has alleged that Nana tried to touch her inappropriately on the sets of Horn Ok Pleassss and insisted on shooting an intimate song sequence in the film, even though it was not mentioned in her contract. The actor filed an FIR against him in October.

Commenting on the future of the case she said, “I have been living with it for a decade without redressal. The legal process is not dependent on me being around. If I have to be around to push the case, what is the point of the legal system and law enforcers?”

(With inputs from Mid-day)