Rajkumar Hirani accused of Sexual Misconduct by an AD - Page 3

Originally posted by: Too_Much

In her interview with HuffPost India, the complainant said she was intimidated by Hirani, who was her boss at the time, and is nearly 30 years older than her. She said she took great pains to conceal Hirani's actions towards her and maintain a facade of normalcy as her father was suffering from a terminal illness, and she desperately needed to hold on to her job.

"I had no choice but to be polite to him, the woman told HuffPost India. "It was unbearable but the reason I endured it all, until I couldn't, was because I didn't want my job to be taken away from me, and work to be questioned. Ever.

"I was worried that if I left midway, it would be impossible to find another job in this industry if he were to speak badly about my work, the woman said. "Because if Hirani said I wasn't good, everybody would listen. My future would be in jeopardy.

This is so horrible. Having to deal with the trauma of abuse and needing to hold on to the job due to her personal troubles. People think it's so easy to leave a job, but they don't realise the extent these harassers go to torture their victims - for people in power positions like Hirani it's very easy to malign a newbie's professional reputation and ensure they won't find work anywhere else. I pray this woman finds lots of support from people around her, she has gone through so much.

But in an email to HuffPost India dated December 5, 2018, Anupama confirmed that the woman had shared an account with her, and that Vinod Chopra Films (VCF) has since set up a committee to address complaints of sexual harassment.

"I've met the complainant twice. Both times, I have offered my full support and recommended that she take the complaint to a legal body or a neutral party since we cannot be arbitrators or judges on this. We also offered to set up an ICC at VCF (which we have set up since then) even though a VCF ICC could not have taken up the case since she was an RHF (Rajkumar Hirani Films) employee at the time. These are two separate companies.

She stayed at our house for two nights. We also provided the number of an expert on the issue so she could talk to a professional.

She said she needed time to think through how she will take it forward. I did not want in any way to pressurise her or steer her in any direction. As Vinod and I told her then, she has our full support and we are fully respectful of whatever decision she has taken.

Anupama's response suggests that Vinod Chopra Films did not have an Internal Complaints Committee at the time the complaint was made.

The Chopras say they stand by the woman and have distanced themselves from Hirani. His frequent writing partner, Abhijat Joshi. too, has said that the woman has his full support.