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Actor Renuka Shahaneknown for her powerful performances in films like Hum Aapke Hain Koun and TV shows like Cirkus, recently opened up about facing harassment and inappropriate behaviour from producers during the early years of her career. The actor also recalled how, despite being an A-list star and coming from a film family, Raveena Tandon had to take precautions and remain vigilant for her safety on film sets.
Recalling her traumatic experience with a film producer, she told Zoom, “A producer came to my home and made a proposition. He told me that he is married, but he asked me to become the brand ambassador of a saree company and told me that he will give me a stipend every month for living together with him. My mom and I were aghast.”
Renuka shared that she refused the advances of the film producer, who then went to someone else with the same proposition. However, she pointed out that it isn’t this simple for many in the film industry, as powerful people often make things more difficult for those who resist them. “Sometimes, when you refuse advances of someone, they come to take revenge and ask others not to take you. That is the danger. It hasn’t happened to me, but it can happen.”
Renuka also shared that if a victim complains against harassment, they often face retaliation — either by being removed from the project or by being harassed further, sometimes even denied payment for their work. “It’s a club which comes together and tries to victimise the victim more,” she said.
She further highlighted how the impact of the #MeToo movement has waned over time, as many of the accused have resumed work despite serious allegations. “The problem is that after the MeToo movement, the accused, after 5–6 years, are doing very good work after forgetting everything. And if you accuse someone and there is no back-up like a police case then people will confront you for not proving the allegation,” she said.
Renuka also shared an example involving Bollywood actor Raveena Tandon, recalling how she too had to be extremely cautious to protect herself from predators during her peak years in the industry. “Raveena was a big heroine and she came from the industry, but she had told me that during outdoor shoots, we would change rooms every day so that nobody should know which room we are staying. So they don’t come and create problem,” Renuka recalled. She said that actresses often had male actors, producers etc knocking on their doors at night and precautions didn’t help.
