Tanushree Dutta had made a MeToo accusation against Nana Patekar in 2008, which she reiterated ten years later. Recently, the Aashiq Banaya Aapne star stood by her stance and argued that Nana's demise does not absolve him of his crime. In her first response to Nana's passing, Tanushree said, "Evil dead," and she has been facing strong backlash from a section of the audience for her comment. Some are of the argument that an artist's work and their personal life should be viewed separately, while others dismiss this, saying, art and artist are inseparable.
Meanwhile, singer and women's rights advocate Chinmayi Sripaada shared her thoughts on the art vs artist debate following the passing of Nana Patekar. "Tanushree Dutta spoke up in 2018 (Raya Sarkar did before her in 2017 whom nobody listened to)," Chinmayi wrote, referring to the actor's accusation against Nana.
"Tanushree had an event to attend and was not looking forward to being asked about her harasser’s death," the singer noted, alluding to the actor's first response to Nana's passing.
"A journalist and an assistant director who were present on the 2008 film set publicly corroborated parts of her story regarding the hostile environment and the subsequent attack on her car after she walked out of the shoot. Yet - she is supposed to be polite while the country sings paeans in praise of her harasser," Chinmayi Sripaada added, referring to the actor's initial allegation and the recent backlash against her.
The singer then drew a parallel between Nana and Kathak dancer Birju Maharaj, who faced posthumous sexual misconduct and abuse allegations. "If you were moved by Nana Patekar’s work - your feeling is valid and so is the fact that she was harassed. Demise doesn’t make one an angel. Whether it is Birju Maharaj or Nana Patekar," Chinmayi concluded.
