After singers Sona Mohapatra and Shweta Pandit called Anu Malik out on his inappropriate behaviour towards them, two more women have come forward to accuse the Bollywood music composer of sexual harassment.
According to a report in Pinkvilla, one woman detailed incident stretching back as far as the 1990s. Recounting her #MeToo story against the composer, she shared with Mid-day that she first met the composer at Mehboob Studios where he was recording a song.
In her alleged encounter with Malik, she recalled that the composer “rubbed his body” against her and when she expressed shock at his behavior, he apologized meekly.
The woman once again met Malik at his residence for some meeting about a fundraiser event. She alleged that after their formal discussion got over Malik tried to make inappropriate sexual advances towards her. When she tried to escape, Malik allegedly caught hold of her in a narrow passage and apologized saying that he was a passionate guy.
“He simply unzipped his pants and asked me to lick him. I told him no and urged him to let me go, but he pulled me by my hair and stuffed my face in his lap, hurling abuses as he did so,” she recounted.
Another woman, who is an aspiring singer, alleged that she was approached to participate on Indian Idol 10 as a wild card entry but she refused the offer as Malik, who is one of the judges on the show, had sexually harassed her seven years ago.
Recounting the incident, she said she had met Malik when she was struggling in the industry. She alleged that during their second meeting at Sahara Studios in Goregaon Malik asked her if she had a boyfriend.
She further alleged when she tried to leave, he “grabbed and hugged” her while running his hands over her body. She pushed him away which was when he said that “I am happy with my wife, I am a sensitive man.”
Meanwhile, Shweta Pandit, in a Twitter post, recounted her ordeal with Malik in an incident dating back to 2000. She alleged that Malik told her he would give her a song with Sunidhi Chauhan and Shaan “but first give me a kiss now”.
Mohapatra accused Malik of being a “serial offender”.
However, Malik dismissed as “ridiculous” the allegations that have been levelled against him by Pandit. He also denied knowing Mohapatra.
A lawyer for the music composer also said that the #MeToo movement, which is having its India moment, is being used for his client’s “character assassination”.
“The allegations made against my client are emphatically denied as completely false and baseless. My client respects the #MeToo movement but to use this movement to start a character assassination mission is obnoxious,” Malik’s lawyer Zulfiquar Memon said.