When the #MeToo movement called out a few directors, talent managers and producers in Bollywood a few weeks back, one thought it would lead to concrete steps against the accused. One saw Sajid Khan being dropped as the director of Housefull 4, Mukesh Chhabra being suspended as the director of Kizzie aur Manny until an investigation against him has been completed, and we also saw Aamir Khan distancing himself from a film to be directed by Subhash Kapoor.
However, the recent poster and teaser release of Emraan Hashmi’s Cheat India still credits director Soumik Sen. This after four women have called him out for his predatory behaviour.
Cheat India has been produced by Bhushan Kumar’s T-series and Atul Kasbekar’s company Ellipsis Entertainment, both of whom have also been called out for sexual harassment and enabling sexual harassment respectively. If this wasn’t problematic enough, one must note that Emraan Hashmi has been giving interviews on Cheat India with absolutely no mention of the accusations against Soumik.
It looks like he’s been given a clean chit since the #MeToo movement has sort of come to a standstill.
Out of the four women who have made allegations against Soumik, two have chosen to remain anonymous. The other two allegations have been made by actor Priyanka Bose and senior media professional Chandraye Sarkar.
ALLEGATION 1:
Singer Chinmayi Sripada had put out a tweet where the first anonymous survivor had given a detailed account of how Soumik had harassed and assaulted her.
She narrates Soumik’s blatant propositioning:
“He asked me what turns me on. He took his guitar out and sang a song off tune. Then he said he loves going down on a woman, holding my hand. I shrug it off politely and say, “Good for you, and for the girl.” He then said, “You seem like a good kisser.” That’s when I told him upfront, “Sir Listen! I’m not sleeping with you.” He asked me, “Why? Because I’m not good looking enough? I want to see you everyday. I already feel you are my muse.”Anonymous Survivor
In the meeting, Soumik tells her that the role in the film he wants to cast her in requires her to be open about her sexuality and so asks her to read an erotic passage.
“I said I’ll prepare and probably the next time I could do that. I just wanted to leave. He insisted that I read it at that time, so I narrated it in the worst possible manner. He requested me to go to the other room and masturbate and make the right kind of noise while reading his filthy work of creation. I was surprised at just how confident he was by requesting me and placing demands like these like he does this on a regular basis. When I said bye, he hugged me and felt my body and I pushed him away saying ‘Please!’ and left the place traumatised.”Anonymous Survivor
ALLEGATION 2:
The second accusation against Soumik is by Chandraye Sarkar a senior media professional who has given a detailed account to Indian Express about his untoward advances. Soumik had first reached out to her in 2010 on Facebook, saying that he was writing Gulaab Gang. In the interview she said,
“But I never responded to that text. Two years later, in late August, he again sent me a similar message, writing he was the writer-director of Madhuri Dixit’s comeback film. He also shared a link of a news article about him doing Gulaab Gang. This made me think here’s a talented man and being in the media industry, it is always good to connect with talent. So, we exchanged numbers.”Chandraye Sarkar, Media Professional
A litte later, to her horror Soumik began sending long passages of erotica to her. Recounting the incident she said:
“At first, I ignored, but he didn’t stop. This went on for a few days before I gave him a piece of mind in the harshest way possible. I also blocked him immediately.”Chandraye Sarkar, Media Professional
Chandraye then sent a message on Facebook to Anubhav Sinha, who was the producer on Gulaab Gang but got no response from him then. When she messaged him again a few weeks ago, Sinha replied in minutes and said that he had pulled up Soumik for his behaviour and warned him that if another complaint was made against him, he would be thrown out of the film. Sinha also swore to never work with Soumik again. Indian Express has records of their exchange on Facebook and can verify it.
ALLEGATION 3:
Actor Priyanka Bose also spoke about her unpleasant experience of working with Soumik Sen on Gulaab Gang. She said:
“At the time he was making his film, he was extra friendly with me. He kept telling me how sexy I am and how he wants to have an ‘extramarital’ affair with me. His pretext was that actresses and directors have a special relationship and I should milk it. I showed him a photo of my partner and told him if I had to have a relationship with someone which was a bit extra, it won’t be him.”Priyanka Bose, Actor
ALLEGATION 4:
Another female actor who worked on Cheat India also gave her anonymous account of her ‘disturbing’ interaction with Soumik and Atul Kasbekar. Soumik apparently asked her to perform lesbian scenes with her colleagues. She said:
“He (Soumik) would narrate unnatural sex scenes and would suggest how we would be apt to play part, all in the presence of Atul Kasbekar who would be flaunting a huge grin on his face. He would also read out erotic poems between scenes. One such encounter had me losing (sic) my cool and asking Soumik to back off. I was sternly warned that if I fuss about such things I would be thrown out of Cheat India.”Anonymous Survivor
Ironically, Cheat India’s lead actor, Emraan Hashmi had put out a tweet about a month ago, saying that his production house would not tolerate any sort of sexual harassment and that they would include clauses in their contract against it. He also put out another statement that said:
For all home-productions made after Cheat India, Emraan will have strict guidelines and a clear-cut code in production agreements to act as a deterrent and encourage appropriate behaviour in the workplace.Spokesperson, Emraan Hashmi
Ellipsis Entertainment put out a statement saying that they had received no complaints of sexual harassment and that the #MeToo movement should not be diluted with false claims.
Chandraye was livid at the producer’s response to this and told Deccan Chronicle:
“I don’t understand why the producers are not taking the allegations seriously. Their statement is blasphemous and protects Soumik. I was angry that Anubhav didn’t act in time, but at least he said sorry now. Anubhav sent me a message saying he will never work with Soumik again. I respect him for the stand. Emraan Hashmi said he wants to clean the industry, then why is he hiding now? They are establishing that they are either accomplice to the matter or partaking in it.”Chandraye Sarkar, Media Professional
These statements seem like a convenient ploy to escape the prickly situation that the film is now in. Why hasn’t Soumik been fired as the director of the film if their stand on sexual harassment is clear? Should his name not be blanked out from the publicity material of Cheat India, especially considering the fact that other producers, directors and actors have taken a stand against people who have been accused?
The point of the #MeToo movement is to listen to the survivors, and to take action. One sees the hypocrisy of industry members when it comes to this. These are extremely powerful people and the world will take notice of an action they take but they choose to play it safe.
Merely putting out a statement seems like an act of tokenism. An example must be made out of incidents like these so that a precedent is set, which ensures that the MeToo movement is not just a passing fad.
Soumik Sen has not been available for comment. The Quint also reached out to Emraan Hashmi but has received no response from him.
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