Sangeetha Bhat kicks off #MeToo in Sandalwood

Days after the #MeToo movement took India by storm, a Kannada film actress has now revealed her harrowing experiences which led her to quit the industry after 10 years. Sangeetha Bhat has come out with a three-page Facebook post detailing the sexual harassment she has faced since entering the industry when she was just 15.

Sangeetha says in the post that she is undergoing a treatment for depression due to these harrowing experiences.

Sangeetha has accused several directors, producers, actors and other technicians for amorous behaviour towards her from the beginning. Sangeetha says she entered the industry after her father's death.

The actress, who acted in a cameo role in the Shivarajkumar-starrer 'Tagaru', narrated at least 12 incidents in the post.

During the initial work for Sangeetha's first movie, a casting director jerked off in a car when she was sitting beside him. He told her, "Such things are normal in the industry."

Once, a director and an assistant director came home drunk on the invitation for a dinner after the completion of a movie, says the recently released 'Ondalla Eradalla' actress. Sangeetha and her mother hid on the terrace of their residence to escape from the drunk men, the post states.

READ: Power girls steering #MeToo

Sangeetha has revealed about a "lustful touch" of a lady hairdresser and when she was "pimped" to a famous director. In another incident, a producer asked her to sleep with him to cast her in his upcoming "big star project". "He also said, he can make me rich by pimping me out, coz he had some great connects with business tycoons," the post states.

Sangeetha said a Kannada film director sent her messages in the night asking to send her images for "inspiration to write". She has also written about the "slut-shaming" out of her intimate scenes in the films.

Sangeetha Bhat acted in several films including, 'Mamu Tea Angadi', 'Preethi Geethi Ityaadi', 'Eradane Salam', 'Dayavittu Gamanisi' and several others in Kannada and Tamil. Sangeetha says considering the family of the persons concerned, she has omitted their names in the post.

"I haven't taken any names here, because, I care about their families who were no way involved. I am sure the people reading this would realise their mistakes," Sangeetha added.

She says "quitting the industry has brought some peace." Sangeetha also said she will continue acting in short films and in plays.

Read her post: