Shilpa Shinde alleges sexual assault by Bollywood filmmaker at start of her career; was ‘told to seduce him’ in audition FilmyMeet

Weeks, after the findings of the Justice Hema Committee report were made public, TV actor Shilpa Shinde said that she was once asked to seduce a filmmaker under the guise of an audition. In an interview with News18 Showsha, Shilpa recalled the incident from the early days of her career and explained how she was ‘very innocent’ at the time and hence, agreed to do the scene. Also read | Prithviraj Sukumaran ‘not shocked’ by Hema Committee report: ‘It is important to punish those who commit sexual abuse’

‘That person tried to force himself on me’

She said, “It was during my struggling days, around 1998-99. I cannot take names, but they told me, ‘Aap yeh kapde pehno aur yeh scene karo (wear these clothes and do this scene)’. I didn’t wear those clothes. In the scene, he told me he was my boss, and I had to seduce him. I was very innocent then, so I did the scene. That person tried to force himself on me, and I got so scared. I pushed him away and ran out. The security staff realised what had happened and asked me to leave immediately. They thought I would make a scene and call for help.”

‘I agreed to do scene because he was also an actor’

Shilpa also recalled an encounter with the same producer years later as she refused to disclose his name. She said, “He was from the Hindi film industry. I agreed to do the scene because he was also an actor. I’m not lying, but I cannot take his name. His children are probably a little younger than me, and if I name him, they will suffer too… after a few years, I met him again, and he spoke to me kindly. He didn’t recognise me and even offered me a film role. I refused. He still doesn’t remember me.”

The actor, who rose to fame with Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hai, added that similar experiences have happened to many others in the industry. She said while ‘some have run away’ like she did, others have told her ‘they’ve faced similar situations, even with well-known figures’. Shilpa also said that when people talk about sexual harassment, she strongly believes that one may have been approached, but they also have the ‘choice to say no’.

Recently, many celebs, including Telugu actor Nani expressed concern over the findings of the recently-released Hema Committee report that detailed the rampant sexual abuse and deplorable working conditions faced by women in the Malayalam film industry.