On Saturday, the model-actress filed an official complaint against filmmaker Subhash Ghai, alleging that he sexually harassed and blackmailed her
Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; October 15, 2018)

Model-actress Kate Sharma was reeling under shock, disbelief and dismay when Subhash Ghai allegedly made an indecent proposal to her two months ago. The 73-year-old filmmaker reportedly asked her to give him a massage in front of a couple of his acquaintances. Eventually, he asked her to “stay for the night” with him.

Recalling the horror, Kate tells BT, “On August 6, he called me to his flat at D N Nagar (Andheri). There were some people in the house when I reached there. He told me, ‘Massage me’. I was shocked at what he said; it’s very hard to keep calm when someone says such things, especially in front of other people. He then took my hand and placed it on his shoulder. I thought, ‘Chalo, dost hain. Kar deti hoon’. A few minutes later, when I went to the washroom to wash my hands, he followed me inside and said, ‘I need to talk to you in private’. He took me inside his bedroom, where the lights were off and the curtains were drawn. He tried to kiss me and touch my private parts. I retaliated, ‘Yeh aap kya kar rahe hain?’ He said, ‘Tum kya kar rahi ho?’ and then he said, ‘Stay the night with me’. I pleaded and asked him to let me go. He wasn’t willing to, but eventually, I had my way. I told him that I’d call back, but I didn’t. He called up at 2.30 am, saying, ‘It’s now or never.’ He threatened that all the groundwork that he had done, to launch me in the Aitraaz sequel, would be stopped. I refused to meet him again and for two months after that, he didn’t call me. When I saw the #MeToo movement catching up in India, I found the courage to reach out to the cops and report him. When he found out that I was planning to go to the cops, he started calling me, saying that it would damage my career and derail it forever, that I should arrive at a compromise. My lawyers and I have audio recordings of his conversations. I am not just playing a blame game or doing this for publicity. I have proof that he really tried to misuse his power and position in the industry to get sexual favours out of me.”

Kate says that she met Subhash Ghai through common friends a few months before the reported incident. According to the actress, he called her to his Andheri flat several times, to meet her and spend time with her. Sometimes, they even met alone. “It began to get awkward, because he would talk a lot of rubbish, but I thought that I am getting work, so there’s no harm in meeting him. He told me that I should leave everything else and focus only on this film (Aitraaz sequel). He even organised a birthday party for me with some of his friends in attendance. He keeps such things away from the media glare. The thing is, when you are looking for work and become friendly with someone who can give you what you seek, you don’t think that it could lead to something much worse. But he’s my grandfather’s age and look what he did,” Kate rues.

Meanwhile, when BT reached out to Subhash Ghai he said, “It’s all false.” The filmmaker also issued a statement, saying, “I am a great supporter of the #MeToo movement, even if my own name has been mentioned. I believe in women empowerment and do hope that those taking undue advantage of the movement do not end up diluting it for their own 15 minutes of fame. I feel grief and shocked that someone whom I have shown my kindness to, is trying to harm my reputation. Anyway, my lawyers will take care of the matter. God bless her.”
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Bollywood aspirant Kate Sharma speaks about why she filed the molestation complaint against director Subhash Ghai
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; October 15, 2018)

A day after she filed a molestation complaint against filmmaker Subhash Ghai at the Versova police station, Kate Sharma says she wouldn't have had the courage to raise her voice against sexual harassment if "it hadn't been for the #MeToo movement".

Keen to foray into Bollywood, the aspiring actor was reportedly in talks with Ghai for the Aitraaz (2003) remake. However, things took a turn for the worse when the filmmaker allegedly forced himself on her on August 6. Deeply traumatised by the incident, Sharma says, "I was unable to tell my family. But if I don't speak up now, women don't stand a chance. It's our fight for self-respect. I hope we battle men who see us as objects to satisfy their lust, and not as professionals. Speaking up finally makes me feel light."

Recalling the horror that unfolded at the filmmaker's house that night, Sharma says that Ghai asked her to give him a massage. "I was shocked, but since I respected his age, I did it. Suddenly he pulled me on him, tried to kiss me and started putting his hands on my private parts. I somehow managed to pull him away." She says that she rushed out of his house under the pretext of having to attend a birthday party.

However, the director allegedly threatened her. "He told me, 'Aaj ka din hain — yaa toh aaj yaa phir kabhi nahi. I can make you a star, aaj teri pariksha hain. Decide karle.' He texted me at 2.30 am asking if I am coming back. I made an excuse that I have a headache." Sharma says that Ghai started avoiding her after that fateful night.

"He stopped answering my calls and didn't respond to my messages. He asked me to remove all our pictures from social media; he claimed that people will misunderstand our equation." The filmmaker denied the allegations on Twitter, stating that his "lawyers will take care of the matter". Last week, an anonymous woman accused the director of drugging and raping her.