According to the report, most of the alleged assault took place during the post-production work of Sanju, the Sanjay Dutt biopic which released on June 29, 2018. In an email sent to co-producer of the film – Vidhu Vinod Chopra – sent back in November 3, reads how Hirani first made a sexually suggestive remark to her and then sexually assaulted her at his home-office.
In the email, she writes that she saw him only as a father figure but all that shattered after the first assault. She was afraid to leave her job as she heavily depended on it, she wrote. “I remember forming these words on my lips – “Sir. This is wrong…Because of this power structure. You being the absolute power and me being a mere assistant, a nobody – I will never be able to express myself to you,” she wrote in the email. “My mind, body and heart were grossly violated that night and for the next 6 months,” she added.
Hirani’s lawyer has since categorically denied the allegations, stating that there was the intent of mischief and defamation behind the accusations. Hirani also showed copies of his message and email correspondence with the woman over the six-month period to prove that their relationship was purely professional.
So far, while Hirani has agreed to be investigated completely, these allegations have led to his name being taken off the credits of Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, which he was co-producing under his banner Rajkumar Hirani Films.
The #MeToo movement in India caught on in the latter half of 2018 wherein former actress Tanushree Dutta shared her ordeal with Nana Patekar and his sexual advances 10 years ago. Soon enough, many men including comedians, journalists, editors, filmmakers, writers, actors, etc were being named with investigations taking place.
Read: #MeToo – Here’s Why It Matters
