‘His children are little younger than me…’: Shilpa Shinde alleges sexual assault by Bollywood actor-filmmaker

Amid uproar over Justice Hema Committee Report, 'Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hai' fame TV actress Shilpa Shinde has revealed that she was sexually assaulted by a big Bollywood filmmaker during the early days of her career.

In an interview with News18 Showsha, Shilpa Shinde said, “It was around 1998-99 during my struggling phase. I won’t take names, but they told me, ‘Wear these clothes and do this scene.’ I didn’t wear those clothes, but in the scene, he told me I had to seduce him because he was playing my boss. I was naive back then and went ahead with it. However, when he tried to force himself on me, I got scared, pushed him away, and ran out. The security staff, realizing what had happened, immediately asked me to leave, thinking I would create a scene.”

“He was from the Hindi film industry, and I agreed to do the scene because he was also an actor. I’m not lying, but I cannot take his name. His children are probably just a little younger than me, and if I name him, they’ll suffer too,” she further said.

The landmark report into issues faced by women in Mollywood, which was made public last week, revealed that "sexual harassment of women is rampant," putting the spotlight on the movie industry's darker side.

The report uncovered that women in the film industry face numerous issues including sexual demands, sexual harassment, gender discrimination, lack of safety in the workplace, insufficient basic facilities and wage disparities.

Since the Hema Committee report was made public, numerous women have come forward with sexual assault allegations against male actors and filmmakers.