Actress Deepika Amin tells BT how she was harassed by Alok Nath years ago during a shoot
Tanvi Trivedi (BOMBAY TIMES; October 13, 2018)

After Vinta Nanda and Sandhya Mridul, actress Deepika Amin, has now accused Alok Nath of harassing her during the outdoor shoot of a telefilm, many years ago. Deepika, who has acted in films like Raanjhanaa, Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and Fan, has also been a part of many TV shows. She tweeted on Wednesday, “Everyone in the industry knows that #AlokNath is an obnoxious drunkard, who harasses women. Years ago, on a telefilm outdoor shoot, he tried to barge into my room. He slobbered over women, drunk, and created a scene. The unit rallied around me and made sure I was safe #metoo” (sic).

Talking about that incident, she said, “When that took place, the entire unit had protected me, but no one warned him of serious consequences on repeating such obnoxious behaviour. For years now, everyone in the industry has known that he creates a scene after drinking. Even Sandhya Mridul (she has also accused Alok Nath of harassing her) said that she was asked to share her room with her hairdresser, after she was harassed by him on a shoot. Again, no one took any action against the man in question. I have spoken in support of Vinta, because I feel that the #MeToo movement is important. It will make men realise that women are not going to suffer silently. Also, every man who misbehaves with a woman must remember that his wife, daughter and sister, too, will have such horror stories to share. We women literally grow up suffering such misconduct.”

When asked why she did not lodge a formal complaint against Alok Nath back then, the actress replied, “Women are taught to accept such things and move on. At this point, I would also like to add that sexual harassment happens in every field, not just the film industry. In fact, I don’t think there would be any woman, who has not suffered some kind of mistreatment from a man. I believe that supporting Vinta is important, because it is high time people came forward and talked about it.”

After her first unpleasant experience, Deepika again worked with Alok Nath in Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (2018). Talking about that experience, she said, “This time he kept a distance and I preferred to maintain a distance.”

On a parting note, she added, “What bothers me is that, why are most men silent when such incidents are happening to women? Why can’t good, well behaved men confront offenders and tell them to back off? Why were the men in my film’s unit, Sandhya’s unit or Vinta’s unit silent when this happened?”