Lasyapriya Sundaram (BOMBAY TIMES; October 13, 2018)

Actress Daisy Shah was a 22-year-old assistant dance choreographer to Ganesh Acharya on the set when the controversial song featuring Tanushree Dutta and Nana Patekar (for the film of Horn ‘Ok’ Pleassss), was being shot in 2008. Over the years, Tanushree has repeatedly accused Nana Patekar of sexually harassing her while shooting for the song.

Daisy, who was present on the film’s set that day, tells us, “Though I was there on the set, I don’t know what happened. On the first two days, the shoot went off smoothly, but on the third day, I sensed that Tanushree was upset. Post lunch, something happened and I am not aware what it was. She locked herself in the vanity van. By then, the media also reached and it snowballed into a huge controversy. All I know is that something went terribly wrong and Tanushree’s shoot came to a halt.”

Quiz her on why she was unaware of what happened when she was present on the set and Daisy replies, “The set was huge and there were close to 70-80 dancers. My job involves setting up the shot once the choreographer has said how he wants it done. I am also required to execute the shot as an assistant choreographer. If something transpired in the midst of setting up the shot, placing the dancers and making them rehearse, I would not be aware of it.”

Addressing Tanushree’s allegations, Daisy adds, “Tanushree’s allegation is that she was sexually harassed. Only she knows the truth. If she has gone through this experience, I truly sympathise with her. She has spoken about her experience and it has given other women the courage to do the same. There is proximity between a male actor and a female actor when a song is being shot. If something happened at that time, no one apart from Tanushree can vouch for it.”

Reacting to stories of Tanushree being called unprofessional in the past, Daisy adds, “Tanushree was not unprofessional, she was only doing whatever she was being asked to do.”