MUMBAI: Actor Tanushree Dutta on Friday said she has been getting lot of negativity on social media in the aftermath of senior star Nana Patekar's death while detailing how her life became a hell since she accused him of sexual harassment in 2018.
Dutta had accused Patekar, who passed away on Thursday after suffering a heart attack in Goa, of misbehaving with her when they were shooting an item song for the 2008 movie "Horn Ok Pleassss”.
In October 2018, she repeated her allegations, which kickstarted the #MeToo movement in India.
Sharing a video on Instagram, Dutta said she faced attacks on her life and there would be goons following her everywhere.
"People don't know the state I have been in since the MeToo movement. The girl who used to work out five days a week, who used to roam around the world without fear, I never had any security issues and no trouble traveling anywhere," Dutta said.
"After #MeToo, such incidents have happened with me that I can't even narrate it here on Instagram. Your face will be wet with shame. People don't know what all has happened to me. In 2024, someone cut the brakes of my car. The goons used to follow me everywhere after the #MeToo movement," she added.
In the wake of Patekar's death on Thursday, Dutta had posted a video on her Instagram Stories where she said she got the news of his demise but will give a reaction once "I figure out what kind of reaction I should have".
"I had my entire day planned out. I wanted to do all these lives and post content. And now I’m worried that in the evening, that’s all the media is going to be interested in is evil dead," she said.
In the new video, Dutta criticised those sending her negative messages, saying that a person's death does not absolve them of their crimes.
"I can't imagine people can be so dumb and daft. The experience of the world can be different with a person, but I know my experience with that person. And I didn't even want to dig up dead bodies, so I kept my reaction preserved, so that I can give my reaction after a few days.
"But someone has died, it doesn't mean that all the crimes he has committed in his life can be wiped out. All the people he has harassed and victimised, does that account also gets closed?" she asked.
Dutta, known for movies such as "Aashiq Banaya Aapne", "Chocolate" and "Dhol", said some people have been asking her to "forgive" Patekar but stressed that the actor never apologised to her.
"Even God doesn't forgive without someone asking for forgiveness. So, first you have to apologise, you have to accept your sin that I committed this sin, I have ruined someone's life, I have done a lot of wrong with someone by getting together in a group and made this person's life miserable.
"So when I say evil is dead, I mean it because for me, that was my reality... This guy troubled me even in death," she said.
Addressing "useless YouTubers and social media people" who are commenting on her to "increase their views and likes", Dutta asked them to put themselves in her shoes.
"You won't be able to survive even four days. Things were so bad for me after 2018. There have been attacks on my life. I have only narrated a fraction of what I suffered in interviews.
"Every single day of my life, since 2018, especially after 2020, every single day of my life, I have struggled and I have suffered because of this man. He did not trouble me alone, there was a huge group. Nana Patekar... Today, the devil has died. He was the biggest demon of my life. He made my life hell," she said.
After Dutta's allegation in 2018, an FIR was registered against Patekar, who consistently denied the allegations. The case was later closed due to insufficient evidence.