Tanushree Dutta comes in support of actor Bhavana Menon; opens up about her own experience

Aashiq Banaya Aapne actor Tanushree Dutta took to her social media to extend support towards fellow actor Bhavana Menon who opened up about her sexual assault case involving Mollywood actor Dileep. Dutta did not only stood in support of the Malayalam actor but also narrated her ordeal which took place in 2008 on the sets of her film Horn Ok Pleassss involving veteran actor Nana Patekar. The actor called Menon a 'brave, beautiful and graceful woman' for speaking up about her ordeal and commended her grit determination to fight for her justice. 

Tanushree Dutta comes in support of Bhavana Menon

Taking to her Instagram on January 11, the 37-year-old actor shared Menon's post where she spoke about the alleged sexual assault and the aftermath of speaking up about it. Dutta wrote in her caption, ''I just came to know about this brave, beautiful and graceful woman @bhavzmenon who has continued her fight for justice despite years of antagonism and oppression. I particularly admire her resilience and must also credit her husband for his support as well as her friends as without a strong emotional and financial support system it's sometimes impossible for young women to continue to fight such vicious battles.''

Tanushree Dutta opens up about the Horn Ok Pleassss incident

Empathizing with Menon, Dutta opened up about her own experience of speaking up about sexual assault by writing, ''I had to move on to build up my broken psyche, life and career. I had no one who remotely loved me enough to continue to stand by me and provide the real tangible assistance needed. All I had are people who would much rather see me struggle and fail so I can give them company in their eternal misery!''

She further talked about the media attention and 'showbiz' behaviour by writing, ''So basically I just got tired of being negative, hateful, angry, full of rage at being lied, humiliated & belittled by anyone & everyone who had a say and platform. All the fake feminists also vanished overnight & I was left to struggle for basic survival. Movements don't run a household work does!!''

She continued, ''It's showbiz and they say that you can only look as good as you feel. I had already spent a large part of the 12 years post 2008 feeling low, anxious, depressed, angry & gloomy. (I have been on medication for chronic anxiety last two years) I finally feel normal & myself again because I avoided this topic. For years after the Horn Ok Pleassss incident, I was unable to take up and hold a job due to my anxiety, depression and PTSD.''

The actor further talked about her struggle with mental health issues after going through the ordeal by writing, ''I wasn't going to live like that for the rest of my life and fight for nothing so I decided to ignore it and focus on my health & work again. This matter always invoked severe anxiety and stress and it was ruining my health. I was getting nothing out of it and it was just a whole lot of media fodder. I never had much faith in the justice system anyways and with a matter that old there is seldom any outcome. So I rested in peace!''

She talked about the prime witnesses being 'coerced into silence' by adding, ''Prime witnesses were coerced into silence & my case file went into the cold storage & deadlock despite repeated attempts to make something out of it. There was no point fighting when nobody wants you to win. It felt a total waste of energy for a sensitive & creative soul who just wants to act, sing, dance, love and live life!''

For the unversed, as per ANI, Tanushree Dutta alleged in September 2018 that veteran actor Nana Patekar misbehaved with her on the sets of the 2008 film Horn Ok Pleassss. The alleged incident took place while filming for a special dance number as the actor went on to file an FIR against Nana Patekar. The latter had reportedly refuted all the allegations. 

Image: Instagram/@iamtanushreeduttaofficial/bhavzmenon