Tanushree Dutta has pushed back against the idea that Nana Patekar’s death should close the chapter on her 2018 sexual harassment allegation, saying the years since she spoke out made her life “hell”.
Patekar died on Thursday after a heart attack in Goa. Dutta posted a brief response on Instagram Stories the same day and then released a fuller video on Friday, after what she called a wave of negativity from social media users.
What she said after his death
Dutta said she had held back an immediate reaction because she wanted to respond on her own terms. In the new video, she addressed followers who had asked her to forgive the late actor.
“Someone has died, it doesn’t mean that all the crimes he has committed in his life can be wiped out.”
She added that even God does not forgive without an apology, and that Patekar never apologised to her. “He made my life hell,” she said.
Addressing “useless YouTubers and social media people” who she said were chasing views, Dutta asked them to put themselves in her shoes. “You won’t be able to survive even four days,” she said.
The fear she says followed 2018
Dutta, known for films such as Aashiq Banaya Aapne, Chocolate and Dhol, said life changed drastically after she repeated her accusation in October 2018. She described goons following her and said the brakes of her car were cut in 2024.
She said she has narrated only “a fraction” of what she suffered, and that the actor troubled her “even in death”.
The allegation and the legal record
The case dates back to the 2008 film Horn Ok Pleassss, where Dutta alleged Patekar misbehaved during an item song shoot. After she repeated the allegation in 2018, an FIR was registered against Patekar. He consistently denied the allegations, and the case was later closed due to insufficient evidence.
Patekar’s death has now turned that long legal and personal fallout into public debate again.
Why this matters now
- Some fans see the actor’s passing as the end of the story.
- Dutta argues that accountability cannot be replaced by forgiveness without an apology.
- The legal case ended, but her account of the personal cost continues.
For followers of Hindi cinema, the exchange is a reminder that India’s #MeToo movement did not end with a court outcome. It shaped how survivors and audiences weigh a career against an accusation.
What happens next
Dutta said she will not be silenced by the online backlash and that she has only narrated “a fraction” of what she suffered. Her statement keeps the conversation on accountability, not on a demand for forgiveness that was never requested.
Source: Hindustan Times