Actor Sandhya Mridul and a Former Crew Member Accuse Alok Nath of Sexual Misconduct

The Indian MeToo movement is already in full swing. Adding to the horrifying, growing list of predators, Alok Nath was accused of rape a couple of days ago, by former colleague and writer, Vinta Nanda. Nath denied the allegations, but now, two more women have come forward accusing him of sexual misconduct. 

Actor Sandhya Mridul put out a statement on October 10, detailing how she was harassed by a drunk Nath on the sets of small film, at the beginning of her career. She explained how Nath would get drunk and keep calling her and come to her room at night, wanting to have her way with her. She detailed how traumatised she was and how, he went on to bad mouth her to others, possibly ruining her career. 

The second traumatic account belongs to a woman, who has come forward anonymously, accusing Nath of manhandling her on the sets of Hum Saath Saath Hain. In an account to The Times of India, the woman narrated how she went to give Nath a new costume to change into, when he started stripping in front of her. When she tried to leave, he grabbed her by the hand to prevent her from doing so. She however, managed to free herself and escape. She was obviously too shell-shocked to report it then, and was afraid of the consequences, given that Sooraj Barjatya (the director of the film) and Nath were close. 

These brave women's accounts only go to show the depth of misogyny and the skewed power dynamics in Bollywood, which desperately needs to change. It is important to believe these women and stand by them.