Tanushree Dutta is an actress, model, and former beauty pageant winner. She generally appeared as an actress in Bollywood movies. She is best known for debut Hindi film ‘AashiqBanayaAapne’.
In September 2018, she told the media that she was harassed by actor Nana Patekar in 2008 on the sets of the Bollywood film “Horn ‘Ok’ Pleassss”.
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Early Life and Career
Dutta was born on March 19, 1984 into a middle class family in Jamshedpur, Bihar. Her father was an LIC agent.
Dutta enrolled at the D.B.M.S. English School, located in Pune, for her junior college studies. She however dropped out and moved to Mumbai to pursue a career in the entertainment industry.
In 2003, Tanushree participated in the Femina Miss India beauty pageant held in Mumbai. She won the Miss India Universe title at the contest and subsequently went on to represent the country at the Miss Universe Pageant held in Quito, Ecuador in 2014. She finished in the top 10 finalists in the competition.
In 2005, Dutta made her debut as an actress in the film AashiqBanayaAapne. The music of the film was a big hit though the film did average business. After that she starred in different films like Chocolate: Deep Dark Secrets, Raqeeb: Rivals in Love, Dhol, Risk, “Good Boy, Bad Boy”, Speed, Saas Bahu Aur Sensex, Ramaa: The Saviour, Rokkk, and Apartment. She has also acted in regional movies like Tamil film TheeradhaVilaiyattu Pillai in 2010 and Telugu movie Veerabhadra in 2005.
She stopped acting from 2010 onwards.
Life after movies
Tanushree had a spiritual bent of mind from the very beginning. After 2008 and a bout of depression, she began a new search for spirituality. She attended The Art of Living Sessions, went to the ashram of Sadhguru, went to a monastery in Uttarakhand, and to other places. She did not like the daily drudge of living a servile life at these places and hence went to the US in search for peace. She finally found her calling in Jesus Christ and is now following that spiritual path.
As of 2018, Dutta is a resident of the United States. She is also a US green card holder and is waiting for to get citizenship of the US.
Alleged Harassment by Nana Patekar
In 2008, Tanushree had reported that she had been harassed by Nana Patekar when she was shooting for a song for the movie Horn ‘Ok’ Pleassss. She stated that Nana was not a part of the song, but wanted to be in it and wanted to dance along with Dutta. She also stated that choreographer Ganesh Acharya was complicit in the act. She subsequently refused to shoot the song and went back to her trailer.
In 2008, Tanushree also alleged that Nana Patekar took the assistance the goons of MNS political party to attack her while she was travelling in her car.
In 2008, Nana clarified to the media that he did not know what had happened and why she had refused to complete the shoot of the song. He had stated that he was there on the sets to do his job and was unaware of the reasons as to why Dutta had left the sets.
In September 2018, Dutta once again spoke to the media about the 2008 harassment by Nana Patekar. Many people like Farhan Akhtar, Renuka Shahane, etc., came out to speak about the support for the #MeToo movement. Others like Farah Khan supported Nana Patekar.
After the new allegations, Nana Patekar stated that he would look into legal avenues to get the matter sorted. As of early October 2018, there have been no formal legal proceedings by Patekar against Dutta. Tanushree meanwhile had scoffed at Nana for not proceeding with legal defamation charges.
In September 2018, Tanushree also alleged that director Vivek Agnihotri of the movie Chocolate had asked her to dance naked in front of actor Irrfan Khan during the shoot of the film. She stated that Irrfan and actor Suneil Shetty had then supported her in this case.
Trivia
- Dutta had previously dated Aditya Datt, the director of AashiqBanayaAapne
- Her younger sister Ishita Dutta is also an actress. She is married to actor VatsalSheth.
- She is 5’ 6” tall
How Tanushree Dutta championed the Metoo Movement in Bollywood
Tanushree stated to the media, in 2018; that she was in India only for a holiday. She also explained to reporters that due to harassment from Nana Patekar and MNS political group, she had quit Bollywood. Soon, her media bytes became viral and more and more women began to come forward and speak about workplace harassment, especially in the entertainment industry and journalism. Names like directors Vikas Behl, Rajat Kapoor and actor Alok Nath were shamed for their objectionable behavior. In a way, Tanushree Dutta has been fashioned by the media as the pioneer of Metoo movement in Bollywood.
Tanushree Dutta – Now (Pictures)
Tanushree Dutta – Then (Pictures)
