Chennai: A day after actress Sruthi Hariharan alleged that actor Arjun tried to miebehave with her while they were shooting for a romantic scene in the movie Nibunan in 2016, the actor today denied all allegations levelled against him. He threatened to even file case against her for making false accusations.
She took to her Facebook page yesterday to say that actor Sarjun (Arjun in Tamil) misbehaved with her on the sets of a bilingual (Nibunan).
“In late 2016, there was one incident that left me startled and took a while for me to recover.I was shooting for a bilingual film which starred Arjun Sarja. A man whose movies I have grown up watching. I was excited about the opportunity. The first few days seemed normal, I played his wife in the film and that day we were to do a romantic scene where we had to hug each other after a brief dialogue. During the rehearsal, we delivered our lines and Mr. Arjun hugs me. With no forewarning or permission, he runs his hands intimately up and down my back. He pulls me closer with my body taut against his and asks the director if we could use this idea of foreplay in the scene. I was aghast.”
“I am all for depicting realism in cinema, but this felt absolutely wrong. His intent seemed anything but professional. I hated that he did it and angry that I didn’t know what to say then.Scenes are rehearsed before we roll camera and begin shooting. It helps understand staging, body language, actor dynamics etc. That’s the ideal process. You talk, enact, and finally find the balance in a given scene. As an actor, I am entitled to know/be consulted with, about the details of a scene especially when it involves something intimate. I’d also like to share with you that every actor I worked with before and after him, have never resorted to this kind of ‘improv’. The director sensed my discomfort too.”
“I made sure I let the direction department know that I was not interested to be a part of rehearsals and will come directly for takes. I also shared the incident with my make up team right after. The incident happened in front of at least 50 people on a shooting set- it happened at my workplace. I wanted nothing but to stay away from him rather than be tolerant and put up with his lewd and complete unprofessional behavior.”
Shruti says as a professional, she had to finish the work and hence, continued shooting for the film.
“It’s time we as women understood that sexual harassment is not comparative but subjective. Each case is different, each individual reacts differently. It’s time individuals who hold themselves in power, and conduct sexual impropriety, are brought down. It’s time we give courage to the survivors, to take their perpetrator’s name. It’s time we create history for the future men and women. It’s time we become more powerful than ever. It’s time,” she added.