I support Tanushree: Chitrangada Singh

Pic courtesy: Yogen Shah

Mumbai: Actress Chitrangada Singh has come out in support of actress Tanushree Dutta, who has accused actor Nana Patekar of sexually harassing her on the sets of their 2008 film 'Horn Ok Pleassss'.

Asked about the MeToo movement gaining momentum in Bollywood, Chitrangada said: "Indian society is very different from Western society. That's why I am saying we shouldn't ape it. But it is definitely inspiring to see people like Tanushree coming out in the open to talk about it and we shouldn't suppress their voices.

"It is nothing to do with the West. We should make it our own society where we should make men in our society more responsible for their actions. It's a positive step and we should cultivate the habit of speaking the truth more often than not," she added. 

Talking about Tanushree-Nana controversy, Chitrangada said: "If it is the truth and even if you speak about it after 5 years or 10 years, we must listen to it, give importance to it and do justice to it. I support Tanushree.

"She has taken 10 years to talk about it. In rape cases or molestation cases, most of the times the victim doesn't feel confident to speak about it immediately. But whenever they want to express themselves, then as a society we should support them and give them a hearing at least."

Tanushree has also filed a police complaint against Nana, who has denied the allegations. 

Chitrangada has worked in film Inkaar, which was based on sexual harassment at work place. She had also walked out of "Babumoshai Bandookbaaz" citing discomfort shooting intimate scenes with co-star Nawazuddin Siddiqui. 

Recalling her own experience, Chitrangada said: "That was my stand to walk out of the film. I shared my reasons with a media house when they called me to talk about it.

"I believe that nobody gave importance to that matter that time. But that doesn't matter, because now media is doing an amazing job. #MeToo movement shouldn't be just about copying the West. It should be concerned about our society."

Chitrangada was interacting with the media at the Elle Beauty Awards 2018 where she won 'Be More Elle Award' on Saturday here.