Following the outrage of singers such as Sona Mohapatra and Neha Bhasin, Anu Malik may be dropped by Sony Entertainment from the latest season of Indian Idol. According to a report by Deccan Chronicle, Anu Malik may be asked to leave in the next few weeks. “Sony thought that the backlash against him had died down. But they never anticipated this new rising roar of protest against his return to the show,” a source told the publication.
Chinmayi Sripada took to Twitter to support the women who called him out.
On 30 October, singer Neha Bhasin took to Twitter to talk about her personal experience with singer and music producer Anu Malik. Calling him a “predator”, Neha Bhasin’s accusations against the Indian Idol judge were in response to a tweet by singer and TV show judge Sona Mohapatra, in which the latter talks about how her actions resulted in her losing her place as a judge on an Indian reality show. Whereas Anu Mallik, who Mohapatra had accused of alleged sexual misconduct, did not face repercussions. The tweets by Mohapatra are excerpts picked up from an open letter that she had posted on Facebook.
Check out the tweets:
Following Neha Bhasin’s accusations, The Quint reached out to Anu Malik for a reaction. However, he was unavailable for comment.
After Neha’s tweets, Sona Mohapatra posted a tweet addressed to Sony Pictures (Indian Idol is produced by Sony Entertainment), urging the organisation to pay heed to the allegations against Anu Malik that surfaced during the Indian MeToo movement in 2018.
She tweeted, “Dear India,media @SonyPictures, @nehabhasin4u was all of 21, @ShwetaPandit7 was 15 when he tried kissing her,his family doctors daughter was 14 when he unzipped, countless other women shared their @IndiaMeToo stories about Anu Malik,including Danice D’Souza, #IndianIdol Producer”
In the open letter addressed to “India, media and Sony Pictures International”, Mohapatra mentions the cases of several women who came out against Anu Malik during the Indian MeToo movement. She further goes on to explain her plight; how she was forced to give up her place as a judge on the Indian reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa even as Anu Malik was reinstated as the judge of Indian Idol.
You can read the letter here:
With inputs from Deccan Chronicle
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