#MeToo: Sandhya Mridul shares her experience with Alok Nath; supports Vinta Nanda

Actress Sandhya Mridul, who has acted and worked on films like Angry Indian Goddess and Soch Na Tha, has spoken about the sexual harassment she faced at the hands of Alok Nath. Recently filmmaker Vinta Nanda had accused Alok Nath of rape. This is the second case of sexual harassment that has come out against Alok Nath.

This is a detailed account that Sandhya Mridul put up on Twitter as well as on Facebook in a show of solidarity with Vinta Nanda, who accused Alok Nath of rape on Monday, October 8.

She wrote in her letter, “At the very start of my career, I was shooting a telefilm in Kodaikanal. I was the lead. And very excited. Alok Nath was my on-screen father and Reema Lagoo my mother. Alok Nath was very impressed with me and called me "God's own child" and openly praised me every day. I was over the moon. I was a huge fan of this wonderful Babuji. I felt so fortunate happy and confident.”

She further writes, “Till one night after an early pack up. The cast went out for dinner. At dinner he got progressively drunk and started insisting I sit with him and that I belonged to him and other stuff that I don't clearly remember but it made me very nervous and uncomfortable. My co-star realised what was happening and got me out of there. We went back to the hotel without dinner. It was late and I was back in my room and the costume dada came to my room to give me my clothes for the next day as I had a very early call time.”

She adds, “Few minutes after he left there was a knock on my door I opened the door thinking it was him again. It was an inebriated Alok Nath I instinctively tried to shut the door but he pushed it and lunged at me, I stepped aside he went flying past me into the room. I fell back toward the bathroom door he lunged at me again screaming I want you, you're mine. I dodged again he went into the bathroom and I think I latched the loo door and ran out of my room down the corridor into the lobby.”

Sandhya says that she took help from a friend from the film’s set, but Alok Nath refused to leave her room. He allegedly abused, threatened and tried to grab her. Sandhya says that Alok Nath would make calls to her room after getting drunk.

As per the post, after a few days, Alok Nath came to Sandhya’s room and apologised for his actions only to return to Mumbai and tell everyone how ‘difficult’ and ‘arrogant’ she is.

(with inputs from agencies)