After Alok Nath's role in Ajay Devgn's De De Pyaar De remains untouched, Vinta Nanda, who accused the senior actor of rape, says she didn't expect any different from misogynist Bollywood
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; April 18, 2019)

A day after Tanushree Dutta questioned the moral bankruptcy of the industry in light of Alok Nath's portions being retained in Ajay Devgn's upcoming film De De Pyaar De, Vinta Nanda tells mid-day that she did not expect any better from an industry whose morals change as per convenience.

When the #MeToo movement took India by storm last year, the Tara writer-producer opened up on her ordeal of how she was allegedly raped by Nath 19 years ago. "I don't expect anything from Ajay Devgn. I don't think he is in any position to take a stand. The money riding on the project is the only dharma for them," says Nanda, who had filed a police complaint against Nath in November. The senior actor was granted anticipatory bail in January after the Dindoshi sessions court adjudged that he may have been "falsely implicated".

It may be recalled that Devgn had lent his support to the movement last year, vociferously stating that neither his company nor he would collaborate with those accused. However, in a shocking turn of events, Nath found a place in De De Pyaar De as his on-screen father. At the trailer launch, when Devgn was questioned about the actor's inclusion in the film, he stated that the film was completed before the allegations surfaced.

"When it comes to the box office, nobody [in the industry] follows any other religion. There is no right and wrong. Their politics and ideologies go for a toss. Their reluctance to take action is the giveaway [of their intentions]," says Nanda.

Not all is lost though - point out to her how netizens had outraged against Devgn when the trailer dropped online, and she says it is up to the audience to right the wrong. "The audience is the only agency that can reject the film. If it doesn't, then it goes to show how regressive we are as a society. But I am optimistic about the young generation. They will give sleepless nights to all these men and women, who are not able to take a stand."

As she continues her battle against Nath in the court, Nanda says it is the presence of brave women like Dutta that give her the courage to go on. "Few women have the kind of inner strength that Tanushree has. I don't know any among those around me. Most are afraid to even meet me, lest they be viewed as supporters of the movement."

Vinta Nanda, writer-producer, who has alleged abuse by Alok Nath
As told to Sonam Joshi (THE TIMES OF INDIA; October 14, 2018)

The last time I spoke out there wasn’t a supportive and enabling environment in the industry, and the world at large. Nobody said a single word. The only reaction was that I stopped getting work. It was a really bad phase.

When CINTAA (Cine & TV Artists Association) supported Tanushree Dutta, it was a trigger for me. I’ve been in the industry since 1985, and it’s the first time that an association that governs it stood up for a woman. When I told my mom I want to come out, she said please don’t because we had been through an emotional cycle already, and the fact that no one supported me was even more painful. Yet, I just knew that the moment was now or never. The next morning, I put up this post. In an hour, it went viral. The first person from the film industry who called me was Vidya Balan, who I hadn’t spoken to in 20 years ago. That started the deluge.

It was exhausting to talk about it again but it was like purging. I needed to end the silence, to get it out of the system, to be heard and told that what happened with me was wrong and feel the support.

The only negative reaction I got after speaking out was the question — why are you coming out after 10 years. But it takes a long time to process the experience of abuse and articulate it. Even if someone finds an opportunity 50 years later, they should come out.

It has made a big difference to my life overnight. I’m feeling lighter as a person, more comfortable in my own skin. I wasn’t born to be a person who could be caged and I was in a cage for 20 years. It’s like I have been released from the captivity that I had endured for 20 years. I have had support from unknown quarters and people telling me how proud are of me. I trust the world now. I didn’t trust it the day before.

In the last few days, there have been dramatic changes in the industry. CINTAA has given me 100% support. The institutions that govern the industry have announced plans to create an enabling environment for women in the industry. I hope women will be emboldened and know there is somewhere they can go and speak out. That is the change. When this happened to me, there was a predator who knew I had nowhere to go. That same predator turned into a serial offender. I was weeping when I read what Sandhya Mridul went through.

Had I somewhere to go to then, these girls would have never had to go through the trauma I did.

It is not about revenge. I’ve done this because I wanted to relieve myself of the burden once and for all. I forgave the universe a long time back for what happened. My justice came to me when I woke up the next morning and found that others had spoken because I had spoken up.

I have found my closure.

On Monday, a TV writer-producer, who was behind the 90s’ popular show, Tara, took to social media, to share details of the assault she suffered at the hands of the male lead actor of her show, who she described as “actor par excellence, who is known as the most #sanskaari (cultured) person in the film and television industry”. She stated that her ordeal began when she expelled him from her show, after the lead actress complained of harassment. On Tuesday, she confirmed to a news agency that the perpetrator she was referring to is Alok Nath. Excerpts from BT’s conversation with her...
Seema Mattoo (BOMBAY TIMES; October 10, 2018)

Recalling the alleged abuse by actor Alok Nath, she says that it left her scarred forever. She maintains that she had spoken of the incidents, which took place between 1997-2000, earlier, but the matter just got buried. “In 2003–04, I had given interviews, but had not taken his name. However, it was very clear as to who I was referring to. Back then, I was labelled as the trouble-maker. It was forgotten soon enough and never came up again. It’s only now that the issue has come to the limelight, since the young generation is a no-nonsense generation. They have created an environment where one can speak up and expect to be heard. His name is out there now. I have said it in no uncertain terms that the man who abused me is Alok Nath. I have not hidden the name.”

The recent #MeToo movement got her thinking that it was now or never to out her perpetrator. She says, “I was toying with the idea for the past three-four weeks now, but obviously, my mother and sister who I live with, were not for it at all. But when I came back from work on Monday, I decided to sit down and post it. The #MeToo movement gave me the courage to speak up. I’m a feminist and was guilty of not having broken my silence, hence, I did it. I told the absolute truth about what happened to me. I used to feel uncomfortable that on one hand, I was talking about feminism and on the other, I was a terrified person myself. So, for me, it was important to get over it first and then talk about feminism and women’s rights, because you can’t hole up such a dark tale within yourself, and then, tell others to carry the flag forward.”

CINTAA (Cine & TV Artists Association)’s reaction in the recent cases, too, encouraged her. “What pushed me was when I saw Sushant Singh (CINTAA general secretary) and Amit Bahl (CINTAA honorary general secretary) walk their talk,” she says.

The #MeToo movement has become like a tidal wave and she says that she can see the difference in the reactions that she has been getting now. “It is carrying the whole discourse forward and has given me the confidence,” she shares.

While she has got tremendous support on social media, the entertainment industry, too, has rallied behind her. She says, “The first call I got was from Vidya Balan. Subsequently, many from the entertainment industry said that they stand by me.”

So, will she lodge an official complaint? “I had not expected it to become this big, since I posted it on my private Facebook page, but it has just taken off with people calling me and lending their support, some of whom I only know through social media. My mother is totally supportive of this now. Lawyers are calling me and saying that they will guide me to take the legal route. I don’t know how to handle this wave of solidarity. I have no plans at the moment, I just wanted to let it out of my system,” she replies.

She also wants this to be a lesson for those who keep quiet and accept abuse as a part of their lives, “I know the consequences of silence and I know what I have gone through, because I have been silent for so many years. Once you are treated as someone who will be silent, it becomes even worse. I want young people to understand the consequences of this kind of silence.”
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Joining India's #MeToo movement on Monday, Vinta Nanda made a shocking revelation, accusing actor Alok Nath of raping her, not once but twice. In a first-person account, the writer-producer of the popular 90s show Tara explains why she felt the need to speak up
As told to Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 10, 2018)

I’m relieved that the truth is out and I’m rid of the burden I’ve been carrying for years. I had only expected my family and friends to react to my Facebook post. I had not expected it to snowball into this.

Back when the incident happened, those I had confided in, including my family, had told me to shut up and forget about it. But I wasn’t able to do so. I spoke about it in an interview to the ToI and had even written a piece in a magazine. The only reason I didn’t take the person’s name was because everyone in my list of friends knows who the ‘sanskari’ lead actor of the TV show Tara was. But those who asked me who I was talking about were told it is Alok Nath. There was no attempt to hide anything.

As I had mentioned in my Facebook post, the first incident happened after I went to a party at his place. His wife was out of town but it was usual for our group of friends from theatre to meet regularly so there was nothing unusual about it. As the evening flowed, my drinks were mixed and I began to feel strange. So, at around 2 am I left his house and was walking down an empty street when Alok Nath accosted me and asked me to get into the car saying he’d drop me home which was at a distance. I got into the car because I knew him and trusted him. He was my best friend’s husband. I can remember more liquor being poured into my mouth and being violated endlessly in my own house.

After that, when I started writing a second series which featured him, he created an environment in which I felt threatened. Later, when he called me to his house, I went and allowed myself to be violated because I needed the job, I needed the money. But after that second incident, I walked away and never had anything to do with him again. I met his wife a couple of times, I had told her what had happened but it was brushed away and forgotten. The ideal situation would be for him to own up to his mistake and apologise. But that didn’t happen.

I moved on, but it was unfinished business and continued to bother me. Also, my silence was misconstrued as fear and some people took advantage of it. When the #MeToo movement happened, I brought it up again, and when it picked up pace in India, I was distinctly uncomfortable because I’m known as a feminist who takes up for women’s rights. I started to feel hypocritical about not opening up on the incident. The same friends who had stopped me earlier, now advised me to speak up and get it out of my system. On Monday evening, while watching the news, I just wrote and uploaded the post on FB, unedited, before telling my mother what I had done.

Today, I am speaking out because I want to tell every young girl that if you keep silent, you will be trapped in a vicious circle. The more you hide facts, the more you stop change from happening and I don’t want that. We need to protect young girls from predators, what happened with me should not happen to anybody else.

Am I planning the legal route? I haven’t thought about it yet. It’s been over 24 hours since the post. Lots of people are advising me, and I am listening to all of them. But for now, I have no idea what I’m going to do next.


‘GLAD THAT THE POWER TRIP IS BEING CALLED OUT’

Navneet Nishan, who played the eponymous character in Vinta Nanda’s 90s show Tara, released a statement about her own #MeToo ordeal, without naming the alleged perpetrator, Alok Nath, her co-star on the show.

“I support every woman and man who is standing up for herself/himself in the 'Me too' movement. I empathise with Vinta for the terrible pain she has gone through; it is unimaginable. I dealt with the four-year harassment by slapping the man in question and it is done and dusted. I suffered the loss of the show and was further shamed by the man through media and I endured that. I fought my battles there and then. I am glad that the power trip and sexual dominance coming from this power is being called out. It is high time,” she said.

'IT MUST'VE HAPPENED BUT SOMEONE ELSE WOULD'VE DONE IT'

Hours before Navneet spoke up, Alok Nath, the “sanskari” actor against whom writer-producer Vinta Nanda levelled rape allegations, came forward with his side of the story.

“Neither I am denying this, nor do I would agree with it. It (rape) must have happened, but someone else would have done it. Well, I do not want to talk much about it as for the matter if it has come out, it will be stretched,” the veteran actor was quoted as saying in a TV interview.