Acting student alleges sexual harassment by tutor

The aspiring actress never knew that stripping would help her in understanding the nuances of acting, till her tutor wanted her to take her top off. The incident happened at the Himayatnagar based Sutradhar Acting School in Hyderabad on 16 April and came to light on Wednesday after the victim made a compliant with the concerned police station.

Achint Kaur Chadda told in a press conference that she joined the Sutradhar Acting School run by renowned stage artist, scriptwriter and casting director Vinay Varma. She attended the acting school from 6.30 am to 9.30 am every day. "On Tuesday, Vinay Varma asked all the students to shut the windows and doors of the acting school and wanted us to remove our top dress and stand in line," Achinta told the media.

"I was shocked. The others also were shocked. As the boys in the workshop group removed their shirts and stood in line, one of the girl student did remove her top," she said. As Achinta refused to obey the orders, Varma allegedly asked her to get out saying she was unfit to learn acting.

The girl ran away and called up the She Team, a dedicated police team of Telangana police to prevent harassment. ACP Narmada and her team advised her to formally file a complaint at the Narayanaguda Police station. However, the police there made her wait from 1 pm till 8 pm to register the FIR. The Narayanguda police are now investigating the case.

Varma reacts

Meanwhile, reacting to the allegations, Varma told reporters that such an exercise is a part of the acting module in his acting school. "All they have to do is remove the top and not to get nude. I teach them how to use their body as an instrument," he said. He added that Achinta joined the course because of her father but had no real interest. "She has been complaining from day one. So when she refused to obey rules I asked her to go," Verma said.