Tanvi Trivedi (BOMBAY TIMES; October 20, 2018)

A few days ago, singer Sona Mohapatra accused composer Anu Malik of sexual harassment and soon after that, singer Shweta Pandit also accused him of sexually harassing her when she was 15 years old.

In a long note shared on Twitter, Shweta wrote, “It was the year 2000 when I was launched as a lead singer with Mohabbatein and was trying to get other good songs to follow up with the success of that soundtrack and the welcome it gave me in the music industry. He was recording a song with Sunidhi Chauhan and Shaan for Awara Paagal Deewana, when my mother and I walked into the monitor room. He told me to wait in the cabin inside… It was just him and me there. He then asked me to sing a few lines for a voice test. I sang it well and he said he will give me a song with Sunidhi and Shaan, but first give me a kiss now.” (sic) Anu Malik has called her allegations ‘ridiculous’ and his lawyer, Zulfiquar Memon, has issued a statement: “The allegations made against my client are emphatically denied as completely false and baseless. My client respects the #MeToo movement, but to use this movement to start a character assassination mission is obnoxious.”

Shweta, who is the grand niece of Pandit Jasraj, was in Rome for a concert, when BT contacted her. She said, “This is the whole issue. These men in power constantly think that they can get away with anything. First, it was Alisha Chinai, then Sona Mohapatra and now me. How can these allegations be baseless? Are we all mad? We were asked to keep shut at that time, because they told us that how can you go against the people who give you work? Can you imagine how numb I went when he asked me to kiss him? I was so depressed that I didn’t want to work in the industry.” She adds, “I wanted to share this so that I can warn other girls who are working with him. Truth is like fire and it spreads. All these years, we have dealt with such situations and it’s usually the women who are told to calm down. In our country, when women are sexually harassed, why are they asked to shut up? People say ‘Hota hai, jaane do’. It has taken me a great deal to open up now and speak about it. The reason why I don’t have a single song with him in my entire career is now out in the public. He asked me to sing something without any music, as he wanted to hear my voice. I remember I sang the title song of Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega as a voice test for him. I sang it well, so he said, ‘I will give you this song with Sunidhi and Shaan, but first give me a kiss now.” Obviously, I had to walk out. In fact, before this happened, I was a big fan of his music. I wanted to sing for him. These powerful men don’t understand that such harassment destroys lives. All these years, I had to struggle and deal with it. At least, the #MeToo movement is empowering women to talk about it. We are entitled to a work environment where such things don’t happen.”

Reacting to lyricist Sameer’s tweet (posted on Thursday) in which he supported Anu Malik, she said, “It is all lies. It’s a boys club supporting each other.”
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Lyricist Sameer Anjaan defends Anu Malik, recalling Shweta Pandit’s visit to his studio over a decade ago
Soumya Vajpayee (BOMBAY TIMES; October 20, 2018)

A day after Shweta Pandit accused Anu Malik of sexual harassment, lyricist Sameer Anjaan took to Twitter to support him. When BT reached out to Sameer, he said that he was present at the recording studio when Shweta and her mother visited Anu Malik.

Recalling the incident, Sameer said, “I knew Shweta’s entire family and she would often request me to arrange a meeting with Anu ji. The day she came to his studio with her mother, I was there as we were working on a song. When Anu ji asked her to sing, she requested if they could go to another room. But Anu ji said, it’s better if everyone in the studio listens, too. After listening to her sing, he said, ‘Beta, I like your voice, but we have singers at the moment. If there’s an opportunity in the future, I will call you’.”

Sameer added, “I’m amazed with the allegations that she has levelled on Anu ji after 15 years! Just imagine, she was a 15-year-old girl back then, who came to the studio with her mom. How would anyone have the audacity to take her to another room in front of her mother? And even if we assume that he did, being a teenager, the first thing anyone would do is tell her mother immediately. What made her keep the truth under wraps for 15 years? She belongs to a musical family, so how could she accuse a senior musician like him? I have known Anu ji for many years. He respects the people he works with. If she is so sure, instead of speaking to the media without any evidence, she should go to the court.”