MUMBAI: With #MeToo movement gaining momentum, women victims from across the country have gathered the courage to speak about and share about their unpleasant experiences. After Tanushree Dutta, Vinta Nanda, and Sandhya Mridul, television actress Sameksha Singh has shared her bitter experience with sexual misconduct.
In an up close and personal chat with business service, Sameeksha of Porus fame said, ‘I read about Abhijeet’s interview on the #MeToo movement, wherein he has called women names; thus, I decided to share what he did to me.’
Sameksha, who featured in Abhijeet’s remix song Jab kabhi din dhal jaaye, said, ‘We were shooting in Karjat for the song. A group of crew along with me and Abhijeet bonded really well and it felt like a family. The next day, when we were shooting, Abhijeet came up to me and started slyly touching me and feeling me. He pinched my stomach saying that I’ve gained weight. I was totally clueless about how to deal with the situation. He later said that he would check my body for birthmarks and fat after pack up. By then I had sensed his intentions but was helpless. After the pack up, he got heavily drunk and came into my room. I didn’t let him inside so he started forcing himself in. I pushed him outside and hurriedly closed the door. He kept on banging the door and asked if I want money. He kept abusing me and boasting about himself. He said he had made Shah Rukh Khan and that he had a lot of influence in the industry. He threatened to destroy my career.’
Sharing her experience further, Sameeksha said, ‘I was petrified and traumatized. I left for Mumbai the next day.’
We questioned her about featuring in the song, and she said, ‘He got another model on board, though I can be seen in the first half of the video. When people asked him about the sudden change, he falsely stated that I lacked acting skills and confidence.’
‘I was too young at that time, and coming from a family who was reluctant about me being a part of entertainment media, I was left with no other option than to deal with it all by myself,’ she added.
On the impact of sexual abuse, she said, ‘I feel this #MeToo movement is not enough. There are stories that people are sharing, but no action is being taken. Sexual abuses create a huge impact on the decisions of individuals, because at one point, I too decided to not be a part of this industry. Such abuse may change entire lives of the victim, but the sad part is that the people who indulge in it are least affected and don’t even feel remorse for what they did.’
