Actor and former senior executive committee member of CINTAA, Amit Behl, spoke about dealing with the MeToo movement in the entertainment industry, claiming that while most of the allegations were true, some cases lacked substance including the case of Tanushree Dutta against Nana Patekar and Horn Oak Place director.
Rakesh Sarang
. Amit also spoke about the emotional impact the movement had on him and the shocking names that emerged during this period.
70% of the cases were true and 30% were false
Speaking about the MeToo movement, Amit told Siddharth Kannan: “About 70% of the cases were true, but 30% of them were false.” Referring to the case that sparked a movement in Bollywood, he said he personally felt that the allegations made by Tanushree Dutta did not have enough substance.“Personally, I felt that the issue that initially sparked the movement did not have enough substance. There was no physical assault, it was more about shame,” he said while referring to Tanushree’s allegations against Nana Patekar and Rakesh Sarang, director of the 2009 film Horn Ok Pleasss.
“Some of the names really shocked me.”
Amit also revealed that he was deeply shaken when he saw so many prominent names emerging during the MeToo wave. He said: “I will not mention names, but there were some names that really shocked me. To this day, I am shocked. These are secrets that I will probably take to my grave.”According to him, the accused are producers, actors and directors. He added: “Some people tried to pressure us to cover their side – sometimes politely, sometimes through media channels.”
He also noted that while some defendants vehemently denied the accusations, others attempted to influence the narratives surrounding their cases.
He watches
Amit Behl shares how many top actors’ dreams have come true with the launch of the new CINTAA Tower
“The movement has also brought about positive change.”
Although he criticized some of the allegations, Amit acknowledged that the movement has led to important structural changes within the entertainment industry.“Due to this movement, many buried issues have come to light. POSH committees have been formed. Today, every major production house and channel has guidelines and internal committees – be it Netflix, Amazon, Excel Entertainment or Rajan Shahi’s office,” he said.Amit also mentioned casting director Mukesh Chhabra while discussing how workplaces began displaying POSH committee information more prominently after the movement gained momentum.
“Listening to survivors was painful.”
The actor also spoke about the emotional impact of hearing survivors recount their experiences in detail. Amit mentioned CINTAA’s representation during a media panel discussion that included actress Raveena Tandon and writer-producer Vinta Nanda along with other survivors.“Listening to them was like watching a horror movie unfold in front of me,” he admitted. “That day, for the first time, I felt ashamed to be a man.”He added that the experience left him emotionally exhausted for months, especially while simultaneously balancing acting duties and late-night calls from people recounting traumatic experiences.Amit revealed that the prolonged stress eventually affected his health.He said: “I carried the burden of the whole world on my shoulders. In the end, I had heart bypass surgery. Thank God, I recovered, thanks to God.”
