The journalist shared her story with a fellow journalist, who put out screenshots of their conversation on Twitter. The woman, who requested anonymity, said she was "stunned" but let it pass. She said she ended the interview after "this line of questioning and creepiness continued, wondering just how creepy would he be in person". Though her editor gave her the option of not filing the interview, she filed it, the journalist said. In hindsight, she said she regrets going ahead with it and should have reported the incident. By not doing so, she may have encouraged the director's "sense of entitlement that he can behave unprofessionally and in a lewd manner and get away with it - even with a journalist", she said.
The #MeToo movement, which many believe has arrived in the country after Tanushree Dutta again accused Nana Patekar of harassing her on sets of a film 10 years ago, gained further momentum after a former woman employee of Phantom Films outed "Queen" director Vikas Bahl. The incident had taken place in 2015. Phantom Films was dissolved last week.
In separate statements, Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane, who formed the company along with Bahl and Madhu Mantena seven years ago, detailed the backdoor deliberations that took place in order to punish their partner. While big names from the Hindi film industry have still not reacted on the row, the revelations against Bahl drew a fierce reaction from their frequent collaborators -- "Sacred Games" co-writer Varun Grover and "Masaan" director Neeraj Ghaywan.Women from all walks of life have started to come forward, naming and shaming the predatory behaviour of men.