Tanushree Dutta became face of the #MeToo movement five years ago when she accused Nana Patekar of sexually harassing her on the sets of Horn OK Pleassss. Recently, she revealed that a #MeToo accused had offered her a role in his film as a way to whitewash his image by associating with her.
Speaking to News18, Dutta said that she does only appearances and brand events and wants to play the lead role in films which is about women empowerment. In 2018, she got offered a movie by a very big producer, but later, his name came up during #MeToo and she did not want to accept his offer. "Such an episode happened again after a couple of years. In between, I had signed some decent projects but I was targeted very badly and my projects were sabotaged," she added.
In 2023, another filmmaker from Kolkata offered her a role and was supposed to help her make a comeback. But she turned that down offer as well as even his name has come up during #MeToo. Although she had expressed interest in the story, it would have been a significant opportunity for her return to acting in a Bengali film.
"The narration had happened and I had also put forth some conditions, which he had agreed upon. I was happy that someone was working diligently on the script to make my character more prominent,” she stated.
"Why did he come to me? He thought that #MeToo ko kaafi time ho gaya hai and that if he casts me in his film, it will give the impression that I’m siding with him. He wanted to change his image through me. Maybe, he also thought that since no one is working with him in Bengal, he would work with a Bollywood actress and create a bigger profile for himself,” she recalled.
