Survivor Geetika Tyagi calls out Aamir Khan for collaborating with Subhash Kapoor on Mogul, years after director was accused of sexual abuse
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; October 11, 2018)

Lauding the Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image (MAMI) for dropping projects featuring alleged sexual harassers from this year's festival, actor Geetika Tyagi has implored festival chair Kiran Rao and superstar Aamir Khan to re-evaluate the hiring of Subhash Kapoor to helm their home production Mogul, the Bhushan Kumar biopic.

After she urged Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao on Twitter to reconsider the superstar's collaboration with Subhash Kapoor on Mogul, actor Geetika Tyagi tells mid-day that it is up to the industry to carry the #MeToo movement forward. Tyagi, who accused Kapoor of sexual abuse in 2014 is appalled that the director has gone ahead to helm two films since then and is currently working on the Gulshan Kumar biopic.

"Subhash Kapoor was shooting for Guddu Rangeela (2015) when this started. After that, he bagged Jolly LLB 2. (2017) and now, he is doing Mogul. How is he still getting work? I hope Kiran and Aamir will decide wisely. I don't want them to rob someone of his livelihood, I want them to do the right thing," says Tyagi, who had even uploaded a video in 2014 that corroborated her claims. The video, which had gone viral, showed the director apologising to her for his actions and ended with Tyagi slapping him.

The actor agrees that over the years, there has been a positive change in the attitude of the industry towards survivors.

Pointing out how the Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image (MAMI), led by Rao, set a precedent by dropping films of the accused from this year's line-up, Tyagi adds that she hopes Rao exercises the same sternness with regard to her husband's production. "I have met Kiran once. She is a feminist, so I would want to believe that hiring Subhash is an oversight."

Tyagi has been fighting a lonely battle over the past five years. "The media failed me then. Though I found support initially, it fizzled out. I did everything by the book — I spoke up, named the guy, went to the police — and yet, I was fighting alone. There is no guild that protects actresses to take on men in power. I had second thoughts about being part of the industry. I stopped attending parties; I stopped hanging out. The next hearing is on January. And the trial is yet to begin."

However, the latest revolution has instilled faith in her. "The movement has gathered momentum. Justice will be served," she says.

Accused Kapoor was unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.