Chitrangda recalls her MeToo incident, says Nawazuddin could have taken a stand

New Delhi: Much before Tanushree Dutta's sexual harassment allegations against Nana Patekar became a tip-off of sorts and opened a can of worms in Bollywood, Chitrangda Singh had opened up on her #MeToo story some two years back.

Dusky beauty Chitrangda's exit from Nawazuddin Siddiqui starrer 'Babumoshai Bandookbaaz' (2017) had hogged the limelight two years back and actress Bidita Bag has been roped in her place to play the lead. The whole ruckus started when director Kushan Nandy asked Chitrangda to act out a love-making scene with Nawazuddin but the actress refused as she had her reservations.

Recalling the horrifying incident now, Chitrangda told BollywoodHungama.com, “I’d like nothing better than to forget about it. But, the incident refuses to go away. I had spoken about it when it happened two years ago. But, I was declared ‘troublesome’ and ‘moody’ and made to pack my bags. They found a replacement for me overnight (Bidita Bag) who went around saying how lucky she was to get such a role.”

“How can men take our voices of dissent seriously when another actress walks right into a role after one actress says she’s been harassed? It is true that women are the worst enemies of their own kind. Even when I was being harassed on the sets of Babumoshai Bandookbaaz, the film’s lady producer was there making things worse for me”, she added.

The director reportedly asked Chitrangda to take off her saree get on top of her hero and rub herself.

“I pleaded that this was not in my comfort zone. I said I was wearing only a petticoat underneath the saree. The director told me not to fuss and just do what was required. I was intimidated bullied and threatened into doing it. Some crew members were mortified. But, Nawaz just sat there waiting for the storm to blow over,” said the actress.

The actress recalls how she was humiliated on-set. Also, the director came and asked her if she is doing the scene or not, when she declined to do it, he left her vanity van. Chitrangada said, “He didn’t ask me if I was okay. He just asked, ‘Are you doing the scene?’ I said no. He left. Nawaz could’ve taken a stand against my harassment. He didn’t. When empowered men in the film industry do not take a stand, the harassers feel encouraged.”

Babumoshai Bandookbaaz was directed by Kushan Nandy and produced by Kiran Shyam Shroff and Ashmith Kunder. It hit the screens on August 25, 2017.