4th April 2023, Mumbai: Bengali actress Swastika Mukherjee, who is soon to release her new film ‘Shibpur’, has made serious allegations of harassment and intimidation against the film’s producer Sandeep Sarkar. Mukherjee has claimed that Sarkar, one of the two producers associated with Indo Americana Production, has been sending her threatening emails with the help of his associates.
The emails reportedly contained morphed images of the actress, which Sarkar threatened to share on pornographic websites. According to Mukherjee, some of the images shared were distorted nudes.
The actor has reported a case of apparent sexual harassment to the authorities at the Golf Green Police Station.
It is probable that she will present all the evidence and approach the Eastern India Motion Pictures Association to pursue additional measures.
When explaining the nature of her connection with the producer, the actor stated that she had not encountered the producer during the filming of ‘Shibpur’.
The director of the film, Arindam Bhattacharya, discussed the situation with a member of the media and stated that he was aware of it. He acknowledged that conflicts of ideas are inevitable in any industry, and that was the case in this situation. He declined to offer any further commentary as an outsider.
Sources with close ties to the producers have alleged that the director provoked Swastika to file a complaint. In response, the director dismissed the accusation and asserted that he does not endorse any form of negative publicity. He also stated that he would not encourage an actress like Swastika to take such action. Furthermore, he questioned why an actress would make a complaint without justification.
The prosecution lawyer representing the production company, Shouvik Basu Thakur, addressed the media and stated that he was not previously aware of the situation and learned about it solely through the media. He denied any wrongdoing on the part of his client and mentioned that they would be willing to communicate with the actress if needed. He added that if anyone was at fault, his client would not condone such behaviour. He also confirmed that they supported the actress in this matter.