MUMBAI MIRROR (October 18, 2018)

A week after singer Sona Mohapatra called Anu Malik a “serial predator” while recounting her #MeToo stories, singer Shweta Pandit, has accused the composer of harassing her when she was a minor.

Terming Malik a “pedophile and sexual predator”, Pandit revealed that he had misbehaved with her when she was only 15 and looking to gain a foothold in the industry.

“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 outstanding welcome it gave me in the music industry,” she said, adding that she was an admirer of the musician and was thrilled to get a call from his manager to meet him at an Andheri studio in 2001.

“He was recording a song with Sunidhi (Chauhan) and Shaan for Awara Pagal Deewana, when my mother and I walked into the monitor room. He told me to wait in the small cabin inside... It was just him and me there,” she said. Malik then asked Pandit to sing a few lines for a voice test. “I sang it well, so he said, ‘I’ll give you this song with Sunidhi and Shaan but first give me a kiss now’. He then smiled... I went numb and pale in the face. I was only 15 years old then, still in school,” she added.

Pandit, who is the veteran classical singer Pandit Jasraj, called it the “worst experience of my life”, and said that she was depressed for months after the incident and could not even bring it up with her parents.

Mohapatra thanked Pandit for calling out Malik. “So many people trolled me for my Anu Malik story and scoffed because they think calling me ‘maal’ or calling up at odd hours doesn’t constitute sexual harassment. Please note, you don’t know sh*t,” Mohapatra asserted.

Anu Malik responded with “No comments,” to the allegations. “This is ridiculous. I don’t want to talk about it. Today anyone says anything,” he was quoted as saying.
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Makers of Indian Idol continue to twiddle their thumbs about their judge, against whom several women have come forward to level allegations of sexual harassment
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; October 18, 2018)

Almost a week after Sona Mohapatra called out Anu Malik for being "a serial predator", singer Shweta Pandit accused the music composer of sexual misconduct yesterday. With the industry following a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual harassment, pressure has mounted on Endemol, the makers of Indian Idol, and Sony Entertainment to drop Malik from the show. He has judged every season since the reality show began airing in 2004.

Referring to Malik as a "paedophile" and "sexual predator", Pandit recounted the 18-year-old episode in a detailed post on Twitter. According to the post, she met Malik in a cabin at Empire Studio in Andheri — the composer was recording a song with Shaan and Sunidhi Chauhan for Awara Pagal Deewana (2002).

"It was just him and me there. He asked me to sing without any music, as he wanted to hear my voice. I remember I sang the title song of Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega. I sang it well, so he said, 'I'll give you this song with Sunidhi and Shaan but first give me a kiss now.' He then smiled, what I recall as the most evil grin I've seen," she wrote.

Pandit also pointed out that she was only 15 years of age at the time. "Can anyone even imagine what it felt that moment? I referred to this man as 'Anu uncle', he knew my entire family for decades... He addressed my father as 'Mandheer bhai'. And he does this to his bhai's daughter? (sic)"

No sooner had Pandit's tweet gone viral than netizens questioned why the show producers and the channel were not taking strict action against Malik. They cited examples of Sajid Khan and Subhash Kapoor, who had been ousted from their directorial ventures following sexual harassment allegations.

A source close to the channel revealed that the officials are deciding on the next course of action. "They have taken note of the developments, but no decision has been taken yet. It is a wait-and-watch situation as Anu Malik is synonymous with the show. Though netizens have been tagging Sony TV in their online demand to oust him, the channel officials are keeping mum for now," the source said.

When contacted, the channel officials refused to comment. Malik, on his part, remained incommunicado. Earlier in the evening, Malik rubbished the allegations to a news agency, stating, "This is ridiculous. I don't want to talk about it. Today anyone says anything." He is currently hosting Indian Idol's tenth season with Vishal Dadlani and Neha Kakkar.

The actor-duo is gearing up to reprise their roles in the sequel of their 2002 madcap comedy that is scheduled to go on the floors next year
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 30, 2018)

Mirror had earlier reported (May 23) that Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty are set to reunite for the third installment of the Hera Pheri franchise. We have now learnt that the actor duo is also gearing up to get together for a sequel of the 2002 action-comedy Awara Paagal Deewana, which had also featured Aftab Shivdasani, Aarti Chhabria, Amrita Arora and Preeti Jhangiani as lead. According to a source close to the development, producer Firoz Nadiadwala has begun work on the second film, the script is ready, and he is looking for a new director to take over part two.

“The script is written by several writers and was finalised recently. Like the original, the new one will also hinge on a lot on action. Once the entire cast is finalised, the plan is to take all of them to the Shaolin Temple in China for training. The film is expected to go on the floors next year and a major portion is being planned in the US, between Los Angeles and the Mexico border. The makers are looking at bringing back the concept of The Wild West.” The original had action choreographed by Yuen Woo Ping, a martial arts expert from Hong Kong, but the team is looking for a new name for the sequel.

The source adds that the original cast, including Akshay, Suniel, Aftab, Paresh Rawal and Johny Lever, will soon be approached to reprise their roles.

As Mirror had reported earlier, Nadiadwala is also gearing up for a sequel to Welcome Back and while a director for it is yet to be announced, Indra Kumar has been roped in to helm Hera Phera 3.

The original Awara Paagal Deewana revolved around the riches of a dead don, Baba Baldev Prasad (Om Puri), who left behind diamonds at the New York Bank to be distributed equally among his son Vikrant (Rahul Dev), daughter Preeti (Preeti Jhangiani), and Preeti’s husband Guru Gulab Khatri (Akshay Kumar). To claim the diamonds, all three are required to be present at the bank. Guru flees to the US to escape a trap set by Vikrant to get rid of him and the story takes off from there.

Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; February 19, 2016)

After the success of his last production venture Welcome Back (2015), Firoz Nadiadwala is rumoured to be gearing up for another sequel. Sources close to the producer have revealed that he is keen to take forward the story of Akshay Kumar-starrer Awara Paagal Deewana (2002), which was the desi version of Hollywood flick The Whole Nine Yards.

Says a source, “The project will be helmed by choreographer-director Ahmed Khan and feature Akshay in the lead.” The action comedy had been directed by Vikram Bhatt and featured Akshay, Suniel Shetty, Aftab Shivadasani, Paresh Rawal, Johnny Lever, and starlets Aarti Chhabria, Amrita Arora and Preeti Jhangiani.

Apparently, Nadiadwala and Akki had a fall-out after collaborating on Hera Pheri and its sequel Phir Hera Pheri, following which he opted out of the third instalment of the successful franchise. Last year in October, there were reports about Nadiadwala extending an olive branch to the star for the Awara Paagal Deewana 2, while stating that Shetty, Rawal and Lever would be retained from the original star cast. “However, now, Akshay has agreed to be part of the film, which is currently in the pre-production stage. It will go on floors towards the latter part of the year since Akshay needs to wrap up his other commitments,” adds the source.

While Nadiadwala and Ahmed remained unavailable for comment, a well- placed source involved with the project confirms the news.

Seema Sinha (BOMBAY TIMES; January 20, 2015)