Flora Saini relives her troubled two-year relationship with producer Gaurang Doshi
As told to Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 10, 2018)

After my film, Love in Nepal, released in 2004, (producer) Gaurang Doshi offered me a special appearance song in his film. I turned it down because I wanted a proper role. He didn’t go away, instead he confessed he had fallen in love with me and wanted to marry me. But he wanted me to leave the industry and my family for him. I gave in. He left his Pedder Road home and shifted into my Andheri apartment. We started living together in 2006.

I had no idea then that he was married. When I found out he lied to me about his divorce and when I confronted him, he started to get violent. I was physically, mentally and emotionally abused by my boyfriend. I didn’t know what to do. When I tried reaching out to my family, he threatened to get my parents killed. So, though they lived in Mumbai, I was scared to go back home. A year later, on Valentine’s Day, I ended up with a fractured jaw and had to get myself admitted to the hospital because I had no one by my side.

This man was someone I loved, and he ensured that I didn’t get any work after I spoke up about the incident. Only Aishwarya (Rai Bachchan) supported me. She walked out of Gaurang’s film, Happy Birthday, saying she would not work with a woman-beater. I went back down South and signed a Kannada film, CID Eesha. I returned to the Hindi film industry with Begum Jaan, and recently I played the title role in Stree (the Dinesh Vijan horror-comedy which featured Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor in the lead with Flora as the ghost).

I have been fighting for justice since 2007. Back then, no one stood by me, but today, women who are speaking up, are getting support, not just from other women but from men too. I’m working on a series being produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani and there are pamphlets all over the set stating it’s a safe workspace for women, encouraging us to speak up if we are harassed. That’s the reason I decided to open up about my ordeal. I’m still trying to heal. I’ve realised that it’s not worth leaving your parents for any man, neither your financial independence. But I have not been able to move on.

Every time a man asks me out, I’m reminded of the incident. It’s impossible to fall in love again. I don’t want to get married either. I don’t want any man coming close to me because I’m scared it will happen again. I’m a mess. I hope by speaking up again, I can help save a life.


(Gaurang Doshi remained unavailable for comment)