Aranya Doloi
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In the wake of the #MeToo movement in India, women and men are coming out in the open and sharing their stories of abuse and misconduct. Names like Vikas Bahl, Nana Patekar, Alok Nath and more have cropped up in the course of the movement. And, director Sajid Khan is the most recent addition to the long line of well-known personalities accused of sexual harassment.
Three women have spoken about the harassment they have faced at the hands of Sajid Khan, brother of director Farah Khan. These include actor Rachel White, assistant director Saloni Chopra and a journalist named Karishma Upadhyay. Amidst all these allegations, Sajid Khan has stepped down from the directorial post of ‘Housefull 4’ until the matter has been resolved.
— Sajid Khan (@SimplySajidK) October 12, 2018
This comes shortly after actor Akshay Kumar, who is the main face of the ‘Housefull’ franchise, asked his producers to cancel the shoot of the movie’s fourth edition. He urged people to take stringent action and said that he will not work with any proven offenders in the future.
— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) October 12, 2018
Director-actor Farhan Akhtar highly condemned Khan’s acts. He tweeted how disappointed and heartbroken he is and asked Sajid Khan to atone for what he has done somehow.
I cannot adequately stress how shocked, disappointed and heartbroken I am to read the stories about Sajid’s behaviour.
I don’t know how but he will have to find a way to atone for his alleged actions.— Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) October 12, 2018
Saloni Chopra gave a harrowing detail of the harassment she faced at Khan’s hands. This included talks of whether she would ever get a breast job done, how sex was really a mental connection and how she was foolish in thinking that the casting couch was about one-time sex and that it would end after that. Chopra also revealed that Sajid Khan wanted her to a director’s assistant and not an assistant director. She further wrote in her post that the director would pass comments like she wasn’t sexy enough or don’t have that ‘oomph’ in her.
I finally decided to share my story with you. Writing this was like re-living all that horrible past I’d chosen to let go of, but I knew if I don’t today, I may never. So here’s #metoo #MetooIndia https://t.co/brouTYIBC7
— Saloni Chopra (@redheadchopra) October 11, 2018
Read Saloni Chopra’s whole story here.
Actress Rachel White also spoke at length about her traumatic experiences in a series of tweets. Retweeting Chopra’s statement, she explained that during the making of ‘Humshakals’, Sajid Khan asked her to come to his home, stared at her breasts and asked her to strip on the pretext that her role in the film required her to be in a bikini. When White said that she was ready to do so at his office but not his home, Sajid Khan replied that people are ‘okay’ about it, implying that she mustn’t resist.
I believe you @redheadchopra I was sent by my agency then to meet Sajid Khan during Humshakals. Right after my agency told me about the meeting Sajid called me within the next 5 mins and said the meeting would be at his house opp iskon Juhu.
— Rachel White (@whitespeaking) October 11, 2018
I stood like an idiot in one corner of the bedroom wondering where to sit and he was on one side on the treadmill. I clearly rem this episode. When he saw me walk in he goes “pls come this side” all smiling . I walk up towards the treadmill . He was directly staring down at me
— Rachel White (@whitespeaking) October 11, 2018
I was in a white vest and blue denims and still felt I was standing nude with that gaze. What happens next is that he finishes his cardio and walks up to me asking me about my boobs and making that kind of conversation. I didn’t bother to answer to anything.
— Rachel White (@whitespeaking) October 11, 2018
After that he asks me to strip for him bcoz there were scenes in a bikini and he needed to see how I looked. I replied saying “there are pics of me in bikinis sent to u,I think that should good for u” n wen he insisted I said “I’m ready to parade ur office in a binkini nt at home
— Rachel White (@whitespeaking) October 11, 2018
The accusations don’t end there for Sajid Khan. Journalist Karishma Upadhyay also narrated her tale of harassment by Khan, who flashed his penis at her during the course of an interview. She spoke about how Khan invited her to his house he shared with his sister for the interview and all he talked about was the size of his penis and how he knew to satisfy a women.
Sajid Khan has preyed on women in the industry for years. Here's my story. #MeToo pic.twitter.com/Rufzs9dsp6
— YellowGlassDragon (@karishmau) October 11, 2018
Hound these ego centric arseholes out of Bollywood after
Shaming the hell out of them!