Tanushree’s ‘Closed’ Case Will Fly Open Like a Stuffed Suitcase

Tanushree is aware of her story’s importance, especially for the countless women who look up to her.

Tanushree Dutta

(Image: Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

Anyone who has dealt with excess baggage at check-in will tell you that a bulging suitcase, which you had to sit on to shut, will burst open eventually. With Tanushree Dutta’s case being deemed ‘closed’ yesterday, the allegations spilled out afresh – of sexual harassment on a film set, of intimidation, and now her allegations of ‘ a corrupt police force’. The lawyer of the accused, maintains that his client Nana Patekar is innocent. Yet her story goes beyond a she said- he said. It has come to represent the high stakes of #MeToo in India.

For Many of Us, Tanushree IS #MeToo India

For those who couldn’t speak out, Tanushree did the talking. In doing so, she challenged three assumptions about women speaking up against harassment.

Assumption 1

Assumption 2

Assumption 3

Closing the case on a #MeToo allegation is not the same as putting a lid on the #MeToo movement. Tanushree too is clearly aware that her case is an indicator of sorts for the movement, and for countless women in India who have faced similar struggles with a system that is stacked against their version of events.

“I pray that I never have to deal with this kind of toxicity ever again in life. I am tired of fighting alone against oppressors, bullies and a corrupt system. I have better things to do in life with my talent and skill set and I need to focus on those but please don’t take this example to mean that you will not be heard when you speak up!! Continue to expose these creeps through social media and other platforms so that in future people would think twice before troubling an innocent young girl. I still believe btw I will get justice and victory will be mine!! How... only time will tell.”

Tanushree Dutta to <i>The Indian Express</i>

Tanushree’s #MeToo case raises many questions. Questions about what the process looks like for ‘ordinary’ women when a case with as much public attention as hers received was deemed ‘closed’, despite the alleged sexual harassment having taken place in plain view ON the sets, WHILE filming Horn Ok Pleassss in 2008.