Actor Bipasha Basu Friday said she was glad that women were opening up about their experiences with Sajid Khan, whose attitude towards female cast and crew members on the sets of a film disturbed her. Sajid has been accused of sexual harassment by three women — actor Saloni Chopra, actor Rachel White and a journalist.
Bipasha, who worked with Sajid on 2014 film Humshakals, said though she never faced harassment at the hands of the director, she always found his behaviour towards women rude. “I am glad that women are speaking up about the atrocities of these men with power and clout… But nothing of that sort happened with me… It was just his general attitude towards women that would disturb me on set- he cracked lewd jokes openly and was pretty rude to all girls .
“I was told by all not to say anything to him and stoop to his level, so I quietly finished my work as a professional and explained my stance to the producers, that I couldn’t associate myself with this film anymore as I could lose my temper any moment,” she posted on Twitter. Bipasha and Sajid had a fallout during the making of Humshakals and the actor decided not to promote the film. The movie also starred Saif Ali Khan, Riteish Deshmukh, Ram Kapoor, Esha Gupta and Tamannaah Bhatia.
In another tweet, Bipasha praised Tanushree Dutta, who kickstarted the #MeToo movement in India after she alleged that actor Nana Patekar misbehaved with her on the sets of a 2008 film. “Kudos to #tanushreedutta… Because of her so many women have the courage to speak out against these men who take advantage of women… Owing to their fame, power and clout,” she wrote.
Bipasha Basu
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@bipsluvurself
Kudos to #tanushreedutta 🙏…because of her so many women have the courage to speak out against these men who take advantage of women …owing to their fame, power and clout.
4:04 PM – Oct 12, 2018
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After the accounts of the three women against Sajid Khan, he stepped down as the director of Housefull 4, which stars Akshay Kumar in the lead role. Sajid’s decision came after Akshay halted the shoot of the film and posted, “I’ve just landed back in the country last night and reading all the news has been very disturbing. I’ve requested the producers of Housefull 4 to cancel the shoot until further investigation. This is something that requires stringent action. I will not work with any proven offenders and all those who have been subjugated to harassment should be heard and given the justice they deserve.”
Sajid said he will prove the truth but is taking the “moral responsibility” by stepping down. “In the wake of the allegations against me and the pressure being put on my family, my producer and the stars of my film ‘Housefull 4’, I must take the moral responsibility of stepping down from my directorial post, till the time I can allay the allegations and prove the truth…,” he said.