Swastika slams ‘Shibpur’ producers over sexual harassment
Kolkata: Two days after actress Swastika Mukherjee took to social media confirming she won’t participate in any promotional events of her upcoming Bengali film ‘Shibpur’, the producers called a press conference on Friday and said that they are surprised to learn that the actress suggested that she will take part in the film’s promotion only if director Arindam Bhattacharya is given the charge. For those unaware, a few months ago, Swastika had filed a complaint against ‘Shibpur’s co-producer Sandeep Sarkar at a Kolkata police station for allegedly threatening to leak her morphed ‘nude’ pictures on pornographic websites if she didn’t ‘cooperate’ with them.
On Wednesday, a lengthy post of Swastika went viral on social media where she mentioned she is not in Kolkata and even if she was, she would not have attended the trailer launch of the ‘Shibpur’, which recently took place in the city. “Sexual harassment is not a joke and there is no forgiveness for it. And neither is there any redemption. The producers may think all is chill and cool but IT IS NOT. IT WILL NEVER BE. But #Shibpur is my film and I will definitely share the trailer for my followers and fans,” Swastika wrote on social media.
To this, ‘Shibpur’ producer Ajanta Sinha Roy said at a press meet on Friday in south Kolkata that as producers of the film, who have paid her remuneration in full to Swastika within the stipulated period, they are within their rights to ask her to participate in the release process. “Why should we the producers be burdened with such a demand? Just because we have decided to back a good subject and wanted to make a mark in the Bengali film industry. Or is it because we were trying to protect our interests? Isn’t that only normal and fair?” Roy said in a press statement.
The producer also mentioned that they empathised with Swastika, criticised the “incident” unequivocally and offered her unconditional support in the matter. When Swastika escalated the matter with EIMPA, the producer happily complied and went twice to hold joint meetings with her and the secretary of the organisation.
