Vinta Nanda a renowned writer, producer and director, shocked the world when she shared her account of rape and violation from nearly 20 years ago. Yes, that’s right 20 years ago; and the shocking thing is that the alleged rapist is a renowned sanskaari actor. Alok Nath soon began trending on Twitter given that he is known as the ‘sanskaari babuji’ across television and film.
Vinta Nanda took to Facebook and posted a long, in a detailed account of her entire encounter 20 years ago. She wrote:
“I have waited for this moment to come for 19 years.”
She referred the predator as ‘the actor par excellence who is known as the most #Sanskaari (Cultured) person in the film and television industry.’
Thought in her entire post she didn’t mention any name, she confirmed the name to IANS via SMS saying:
“It is Alok Nath. I thought saying ‘sanskaari’ would do the needful.”
The escalating voices against sexual harassment across the world as part of the #MeToo wave has given her the courage to pen down the experiences
Here are some excerpts from her post:
“He was an alcoholic, shameless and obnoxious but he was also the television star of that decade, so not only was he forgiven for all his bad behaviour, many of the guys would also egg him on to be his worst.”
She added that he even harassed the show’s lead actress who was not interested in him. Sharing more of the same, the film-maker recounted the incidents that followed after she left a party at Alok’s house at 2 a.m. She says her drinks were mixed.
“I started to walk home on the empty streets… Midway I was accosted by this man who was driving his own car and he asked me to sit in it and said he would drop me home. I trusted him and sat in his car. I have faint memory after that. I can remember more liquor being poured into my mouth and I remember being violated endlessly. When I woke up the next afternoon, I was in pain. I hadn’t just been raped, I was taken to my own house and had been brutalised. I couldn’t get up for my bed. I told some of my friends but everybody advised me to forget about it and move on.”
Read her entire post here:
https://www.facebook.com/vintananda/posts/10156499299095560
She concluded her post saying,
“I have waited for this moment to come for 19 years. I shout out to each one of you who have suffered at the hands of predators to come out and say it aloud. Don’t hold yourselves back. This is a moment for change so your silence will only hold barriers to its evolution. Speak out. Shout out from the top of the roof.“
The Cine & TV Artists Association (CINTAA) has decided to send him a show-cause notice.
