Ever
since
Tanushree
Dutta
opened
up
about
facing
sexual
harassment
by
Nana
Patekar,
the
#MeToo
has
gained
momentum
in
the
film
industry
with
several
women
coming
forward
and
sharing
stories
of
facing
harassment
at
the
hands
of
powerful
men.
The
latest
celebrity
to
share
her
#MeToo
story
is
former
Miss
India
and
actress
Niharika
Singh.
She
penned
a
long
post
about
#MeToo
movement
in
India
and
written
her
own
experiences
in
the
glamour
industry
which
was
shared
by
author
Sandhya
Menon
on
her
Twitter
handle-
Niharika
Mentioned
Her
Ex-Flame
Nawazuddin
Siddiqui
In
Her
Post
'In
2009,1
signed
a
small
indie
film
titled
‘Miss
Lovely'
with
an
all
new
cast
and
crew.
I
was
required
on
the
set
for
not
more
than
15
days.
An
actor
named
Nawazuddin
Siddiqui
who
liked
to
call
himself
`Nowaz'
was
signed
for
one
of
the
lead
roles.
I'd
never
heard
of
him
so
I
wasn't
sure
whether
he
could
act
at
all.
During
one
of
my
interactions
on
the
sets
with
Nowaz,
he
gave
me
a
CD
that
had
a
short
film
on
it
called
‘Bypass'
which
also
starred
actor
Irrfan
Khan,
his
senior
from
National
School
of
Drama
who
was
helping
him
get
acting
jobs.
I
was
amazed
by
his
performance
and
screen
presence.
The
Nowaz
on
the
set
was
nothing
like
the
Nowaz
on
screen.
Since
I'd
barely
noticed
him
on
the
set
before,
I
was
intrigued.
The
next
time
I
met
him,
he
sensed
my
curiosity
and
invited
me
to
his
house
for
lunch.
His
frugal
apartment
and
grandiose
generosity
warmed
my
heart.
We
talked
about
his
life
and
I
found
him
real,
after
all
the
superficial
‘filmy'
interactions
I'd
had
in
the
past
years."
'Nawaz
Was
Stuck
In
A
State
Of
Victimization'
"I
was
drawn
to
the
stories
from
his
life.
I
introduced
him
to
my
sister
and
my
friends
but
he
was
very
insecure
around
them
and
preferred
to
spend
time
with
me
alone.
He
often
complained
about
how
he
was
judged
on
his
looks,
skin
color
and
that
he
wasn't
fluent
in
English.
I
tried
to
help
him
deal
with
his
insecurities,
but
he
was
stuck
in
a
state
of
victimization."
'I
Began
To
Discover
Nawaz's
Lie
One
After
The
Other'
"In
the
next
couple
of
months,
I
began
to
discover
one
lie
after
another.
Nowaz
had
engaged
multiple
women,
giving
each
one
a
different
story;
one
of
them
even
called
me
from
his
phone
and
started
yelling
at
me.
I
also
found
out
about
a
woman
he'd
married
in
Haldwani,
whose
family
had
sued
him
for
making
dowry
demands.
I
told
him
to
clean
up
his
mess,
be
honest
with
himself
and
everyone
around
him;
also
that
I
did
not
want
to
see
him
again."
'I
Told
Nawaz
He
Must
Never
Lie
To
Me
Again'
"‘Miss
Lovely'
got
into
the
Cannes
Film
Festival
in
2012.
I
felt
vindicated
and
enjoyed
the
attention
of
the
international
press.
I
posed,
preened,
finally
saw
myself
on
the
big
screen
and
returned
a
changed
woman.
Nawaz
and
I
met
at
Cannes
after
three
years.
We
hadn't
spoken
to
each
other
since
2009.
He
was
apologetic
for
his
past
behavior,
told
me
he'd
worked
on
his
issues,
dissolved
his
first
marriage
and
married
a
second
time.
I
started
laughing.
He
started
crying,
confessing
he
and
his
second
wife
were
living
separately
and
it
was
even
more
complicated
since
he
now
had
a
daughter
who
he
missed
dearly.
I
looked
at
him
with
compassion
and
told
him
that
he
could
call
me
if
he
needed
to
talk.
There
was
one
caveat
though
-
He
must
never
lie
to
me
again.
2012
was
the
year
he
got
his
first
brush
with
‘fame'.
He
wasn't
used
to
public
life
or
much
attention.
He
would
call
me
everyday
not
knowing
how
to
deal
with
it
and
I
tried
to
guide
him
through
the
madness."
Niharika
further
wrote
in
her
post,
"I
was
living
in
Dehradun
that
time
and
had
applied
for
a
film
appreciation
course
at
FT1I
in
Pune.
I
didn't
take
up
any
film
offers
I
was
getting
because
I
wanted
to
study
post
my
Cannes
experience
and
had
no
inclination
to
return
to
my
previous
'filmy'
life.
I
tried
reconnecting
with
my
family.
My
mother
who
had
been
living
separately
from
my
father
for
years
was
struggling
with
mental
health
and
my
father
was
about
to
retire
from
government
service.
Nawaz
had
family
in
Dehradun
who
I
had
been
introduced
to.
I
was
very
fond
of
his
brother
Faizy
and
his
wife.
We
all
even
celebrated
Eid
together
once.
In
2013,
Nawaz
was
offered
a
film
by
Buddhadeb
Dasgupta
titled
'Anwar
ka
ajab
kissa'
and
he
called
me
to
ask
me
if
I
would
do
a
small
role
in
that
film.
I
would
only
be
required
to
shoot
for
3
days.
I
gladly
agreed
and
went
to
Shimultata
where
the
shoot
was
scheduled.
He
tried
to
re-engage
me
sexually,
begging
me
to
be
with
him
but
I
refused,
saying
I
was
happy
to
be
his
friend
and
nothing
else.
After
coming
back
from
the
shoot,
I
didn't
take
his
calls
and
maintained
my
distance.
I
met
Nawaz
again
in
2014
at
the
'Miss
Lovely'
India
release.
This
time
he
came
in
a
SUV,
with
an
entourage
as
the
'star'
of
the
film.
He
was
constantly
throwing
tantrums,
upset
with
the
way
the
promotions
were
being
handled.
He
complained
that
the
director
should've
just
made
a
painting
at
home
if
he
didn't
care
much
about
box-office.
He
was
very
awkward
around
me
so
I
tried
to
overcompensate
by
praising
him
in
media
interactions
and
indulged
him
to
make
him
feel
secure.
One
evening,
after
a
promotional
event
in
Ahmedabad,
he
tried
to
grab
me
again.
I
just
walked
away.
'Anwar
ka
ajab
kissa'
didn't
get
a
theatrical
release
and
I
heard
from
various
sources
that
Nawaz
had
started
telling
people
that
I
was
a
terrible
actress.
I
didn't
get
too
many
film
offers
after
that.
In
2017,
Nawazuddin
Siddiqui
wrote
a
memoir
called
'An
ordinary
life',
with
writer
Rituparna
Chatterjee,
which
was
published
by
Penguin
Random
House.
Under
the
title
'Relationships',
he
wrote
a
completely
fabricated
account
of
our
relationship
without
my
knowledge
or
consent.
Before
the
book
launch,
publicists
leaked
sensational
excerpts
to
garner
interest
in
the
book.
A
senior
theatre
and
television
actress
Sunita
Rajwar
who
had
known
Nawaz
since
her
NSD
days
confirmed
his
'extraordinary
lies'
and
filed
a
case.
He
offered
a
token
social
media
apology
withdrawing
the
book.
I
ordered
the
book
online
a
week
later
and
it
was
delivered
to
my
house.
Director
Anurag
Kashyap,
Nawaz's
mentor
and
close
collaborator
who
chose
to
turn
a
blind
eye
towards
sexual
harassment
within
his
own
company,
continues
to
support
Nawaz
and
his
story.
Writer
Rituparna
Chatterjee
with
her
completely
unethical,
defamatory
and
poorly
researched
book
is
not
apologetic
either.
I
tried
to
seek
legal
help
and
spoke
to
a
lawyer.
His
advice
to
me
was
to
'meditate'
and
forget
about
the
whole
thing
unless
I
wanted
to
get
on
every
news
channel
and
have
a
media
trial.
Another
lawyer
from
New
Delhi
took
it
upon
himself
to
file
a
complaint
against
the
actor
with
the
National
Commission
of
Women.
News
channels
and
publications
regurgitated
the
sensational
content
from
the
book
along
with
images
from
different
phases
of
my
life
adding
further
fabricated
layers
to
the
story.
This
public
scandal
was
one
of
the
biggest
controversies
of
2017.
Penguin
Random
House
took
no
responsibility
and
remained
silent.
Filmmakers,
Writers,
Publishers,
Journalists,
Lawyers
-nobody
can
take
a
high
moral
ground.
They
were
all
complicit
in
this
collective
public
shaming.
Nawazuddin
Siddiqui
after
playing
the
role
of
'Manto'
became
the
harbinger
of
truth.
He
was
invited
by
JNU
and
various
literary
festivals
as
a
guest
where
he
played
the
role
of
truth-teller
effortlessly.
His
fan
following
on
social
media
multiplied;
GQ
magazine
then
awarded
him
'Actor
of
the
year'.
Netflix
started
a
second
season
of
'Sacred
Games'
with
him
in
the
lead.
Nawaz's
repeated
stance
that
he
wrote
the
memoir
while
he
was
preparing
for
the
role
of
Saadat
Hasan
Manto
makes
for
the
perfect
irony.
Niharika
also
named
producer
Bhushan
Kumar
in
her
post
and
wrote,
"Bhushan
Kumar
called
me
to
his
office
to
sign
'A
New
Love
Ishtory'
where
he
gave
me
an
envelope
as
a
signing
amount
for
the
film.
It
contained
two
500
Rupee
notes
(less
than
14$).
I
got
a
text
from
him
later
that
night-
'I
would
love
to
know
you
more.
Let's
get
together
sometime.'
I
wrote
back
saying-
'Absolutely!
Lets
go
on
a
double
date.
You
bring
your
wife.
I'll
bring
my
boyfriend.'
He
never
wrote
to
me
again."