#MeToo | 'Neerja' Producer Atul Kasbekar Accused Of Sexual Harassment, Ellipsis Entertainment Issues Statement

Indian film industry is going through a historic time where survivors of sexual harassment are finally able to share their story through social media and other platforms. 

READ: EXCLUSIVE | Ira Dubey Opens Up On #MeToo, Says The Movement Comes With A Certain Sense Of Murkiness

In the light of the recent events, 'Neerja' producer Atul Kasbekar has been accused of misconduct on the sets of 'Cheat India'. An anonymous Twitter user shared a post where she called out Soumik Sen and Atul Kasbekar saying the experience of working with them was "rather disturbing." Read her entire post here: 

"I’m an actress and look forward to continue my dream of acting while in a safe working environment. My most recent experience of working with Atul Kasbekar and Soumik Sen on the film Cheat India has been rather disturbing. While on sets and in the vanity vans, Soumik would often talk about wanting to see me and my female colleagues enact scenes for a lesbian web series for Netflix. He (Soumik) would narrate unnatural sex scenes and would suggest how we would be apt to play part, all in the presence of Atul Kasbekar who would be flaunting a huge grin on his face. He would also read out erotic poems between scenes. One such encounter had me loosing (sic) my cool and asking Soumik to back off, I was sternly warned that if I fuss about such things I would be thrown out of Cheat India. The producer Atul who was also a part of the discussion chose to keep silent and took no action even when I displayed my discomfort. The film has wrapped and I have sworn to never work with Shoumik or Atul ever again. They are sleeze bags who harass women with their powerplay." 

READ: #MeToo | Lara Dutta on Entering Bollywood: 'I Was Told To Expect Harassment/Exploitation'

She further went on to state that in the past few weeks she interacted with women who have had worse experiences with Atul Kasbekar. The past few weeks, I’ve interacted with women who have had worse experiences with Atul Kasbekar. Unfortunately, the encounters had them giving up and relocating to start afresh in other countries abroad. As for me, the #MeToo movement leaves me with a hope where aspiring professionals like me will be given opportunities based on our talent and not sexual favours."

Post the news surfaced, Ellipsis Entertainment, which was co-founded by Atul Kasbekar, released a statement saying, "We will soon file a complaint with the cyber crime cell to look into the matter." Read their statement below: 

The ace-photographer turned producer is yet to comment on this.