After Tanushree Dutta accused Nana Patekar of sexual harassment, CINTAA (Cine & TV Artists’ Association) took its time before releasing their statement in the matter. The association’s general secretary, Sushant Singh spoke to The Indian Express about why it took them some time to understand what happened in 2008, and also explained the process the film body adopts when a complaint in a sexual harassment case is filed.
Speaking about Tanushree’s statement that CINTAA gave no support to her, “We went back to our old records; thankfully, every case is documented. We realised that while CINTAA got the producers to settle the monetary damages Tanushree suffered, her chief complaint of sexual harassment had been overlooked and the case had been closed,” said Sushant.
The committee issued an apology and extended support to the actor for failing to address her complaint back then.
But CINTAA has said it will not be able to help Tanushree today because, “the association does not allow us to look at cases that date back to more than three years”.
Sushant also spoke about the process of filing a sexual harassment complaint with CINTAA.
A member can file any complaint, be it a payment dispute or sexual harassment, by filling up the complaint for online. The form is also available in the CINTAA office for those who may not have access to the internet. In case of emergencies, say if an incident of sexual harassment is taking place during a film shoot, they can call our office numbers and someone from CINTAA will make sure to intervene.Sushant Singh
Sushant also said that the last three years that he has been associated with CINTAA, they have only received five cases or so.
“The truth is that most cases do not get reported. Sometimes the victims, who are all actors, fear that it will damage their career, at other times, they probably do not have the resources to see it through,” he added.
When a sexual harassment complaint is filed, CINTAA “advises the members to file a police complaint in the matter”. If the complainant is hesitant to take the legal course, CINTAA step in to “arbitrate via the producers’ body as all such cases are to be brought to the notice of the producer in charge of the project that the victim is part of”.
Sushant narrated an incident and how the matter was handled by CINTAA. Similar to what transpired with Tanushree, a female actor got a script on set that was starkly different from the one narrated to her, with intimate scenes that she was uncomfortable with.
The set was in an isolated spot and dominated by male crew. She shot certain portions but approached us as soon as she returned from the shoot. The actor was unwilling to take the matter to the police, fearing it may result in her family barring her from acting. We called a joint meeting with the producer and ensured all footage objectionable to the actor was deleted from their systemSushant Singh
He also added that they have not received any complaints against powerful people in the industry so far.
“But I will add that the committee also comprises of actors, who probably face the same fears when dealing with a sexual harassment complain against a powerful person. Also, it has happened in the past that the committee has stood by the victim but the victim, under pressure, has withdrawn the complaint, leaving the committee members in bad books of the powerful predator. While this happens, I won’t say it is the right thing to do. We hope to fix this,” concluded Sushant.
(Source: The Indian Express)
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