Kannada actress Sangeetha Bhatt revealed her tragic experience of sexual harassment that she faced in the film industry during her teenage years. Without mentioning names, Sangeetha disclosed that she was subjected to sexual abuse by a casting director of the movie when she was 15 years old.

Sangeetha even mentioned several bitter experiences she had gone through in the early days of her career. She accused popular directors, stars, and even hairdressers claiming that they have awfully abused and tarnished her status in the industry.

 

The 3-page-long note on her Twitter account begins like this. “Hello everyone…I have been wanting to share with you all from a few months,…that I am no longer in the film industry (for good) been undergoing a lot of trauma since the time I stepped foot in this industry…many told me not to share my story but I didn’t want my struggle, my pain to go unnoticed, I request you all to read the attached post’s being human and not by judging or assuming different stories. I have tried my best to put my story in a summary of three pages (which was a challenge) (sic).”

Sangeetha has been active in Sandalwood for the last 10 years and has acted in popular films like Eradane Sala, Dayavittu Gamanisi, Preeti Geethi Ityaadi, and Mamu Tea Angadi.

Sangeetha Bhatt is the first Kannada film actor to come out in public and share her bitter experiences in the industry joining the #MeToo movement.

And she clearly stated that her posts are not meant to procure any kind of attention from the public or media. “These are my experiences, which haunt me every minute of my life. I have gathered too much courage to write this, and it comes with a lot of risks,” she said in her Tweet.

 The actress has also declared her withdrawal from the film industry, but has not mentioned whether she is going to take any legal action against any of those offenders that she mentioned in her note. “These stories have always hid inside my head. I never spoke about them outside. I was always scared — fear of my career, fear of being hurt by such people, fear of losing loved ones, fear of the society, and fear of being judged. I even hid the fact that I was married, just to ‘save’ my career in the film industry,” she said. The actress also pointed out the financial crisis she has gone through as she was paid ‘peanuts’ for most of the films.

 Sangeetha concluded by saying, “I have finally decided to unmask myself and live free. Quitting the industry has brought some peace.”