Weeks after #MeToo claim, Sanjjanaa Galrani apologises to director

BENGALURU: Three weeks after

Kannada

actress

Sanjjanaa

Galrani accused director Ravi Srivatsa of harassing her during the shooting of ‘Ganda Hendathi’ 13 years ago, she apologized to him on Tuesday.


“I was very young when it happened to me and was disturbed, but today things are different. My intentions were not to hurt anyone in the industry or members of the directors’ association. I am very sorry,” she said.

During the recent #MeToo movement — which took the Indian media and entertainment industry by storm, with survivors sharing their sexual harassment ordeals on social media — Galrani had claimed that Srivatsa had harassed her during the shooting that happened 13 years ago. He had forced her to enact intimate scenes which she wasn’t comfortable with. She had signed up for only one kissing scene but was eventually asked to shoot 15 such scenes, which were not demanded by the script. Galrani also alleged that Srivatsa had threatened and yelled at her during the shoot.

Refuting the charges, Srivatsa questioned the reason behind her silence all these years and accused her of using #MeToo as a platform. “None of her accusations is worthy… why did she sign the film when the script was narrated to her before the shoot… I demand an apology,” he had said.

Following this, Srivatsa complained to the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) and the Kannada Film Directors Association claiming that the actress had tarnished his image by making false allegations. Senior Sandalwood actors intervened and held discussions with both the actress and the director even as an informal probe was underway.

Actor Ambareesh requested Galrani to take back her words for making such “baseless allegations” against a member of the directors’ association of the Kannada film industry, following which Galrani apologized to Srivatsa at Ambareesh’s residence in the presence of director Roopa Iyer, producer Rockline Venkatesh, association president Nagendra Prasad and others on Tuesday. During the meeting, the actress said that she had used the #MeToo platform to discuss her ordeal but didn’t mean to offend anyone.