Imran Khan, who is producing Main Bhi (#MeToo in Hindi), has claimed that distributors are unwilling to touch his film as it features Alok Nath who has been accused of indecent behaviour by several women during the #MeToo wave which hit the country last year.
Alok Nath wearing glasses: Alok Nath, who has been accused of sexual assault and harassment by several women during last year’s #MeToo movement, is playing a judge in Main Bhi. Alok Nath, who has been accused of sexual assault and harassment by several women during last year’s #MeToo movement, is playing a judge in Main Bhi.
Ironically, the actor plays an upright judge in the film which deals with sexual harassment.
“We wrapped up our film last year in July, long before the allegations against Alok Nath ji were made public and he was banned. A year ago, any producer would have cast him in such a role,” Khan told a major daily. He also said that his film being boycotted by distributors was unfair.
“He has worked with Subhash Ghai, Yash Chopra and Karan Johar, so where have I erred in casting him? I’ve approached so many distributors and advertisement agencies, but distributors are not buying my film due to him. It’s injustice to a small producer like me who in all fairness casted Alok Nath ji at the start of 2018,” the producer said.
When the #MeToo movement gained momentum in India, veteran writer-producer Vinta Nanda accused Nath of sexually assaulting and brutalising her, not just once but twice. Several other women including actresses Sandhya Mridul and Navneet Nishan also alleged that he sexually harassed them.
Incidentally, Khan has worked with Nath and Nanda on two television shows back in the 1990s – Tara and Hero Uncle. When asked if Nath behaved inappropriately on the sets, the producer said, “Everybody in the industry knows that there are two sides to Alok Nath – one before he starts drinking and other after he is drunk. I don’t remember any untoward situation, he was always a gem of a person. But what transpires within the four walls is something that only the woman and man can say.”
Khan also said that there was no untoward incident during the shooting of Main Bhi in Bhopal and that Nath was “well-behaved”. “We had a lot of female crew, he was well-behaved with them on sets,” he said.
Earlier, when Nath was asked about his role in Main Bhi, he told a newspaper, “Is there a problem? You sound sad that I’m doing a film. It’s a puny role for poor producers, let it release.”
(courtesy: www.msn.com)
