Music composer and reality show judge Anu Malik was accused by four women of sexual harassment during the MeToo movement, and recently, by singer Neha Bhasin. However, he is back on the judge panel of Indian Idol, from which he was removed last year.
Singer Neha Bhasin alleged that Anu Malik was a predator. “We do live in a very sexist world. Anu Malik is a predator, I too have run away from his strange moves when I was 21. I didn't let myself get into a sticky situation beyond him lying on a sofa in front of me talking about my eyes in a studio," she tweeted.
"I fled lying my mum is waiting below. He even messaged and called me after that to which I stopped responding. The point is I went to give him my cd and hope for a chance at a song. He was older and shouldnt have behaved the way he did. Anu Malik is an ugly pervert," she added.
Anu Malik’s reintroduction into the show despite the allegations has triggered outrage, but has also been defended. Neha slammed Sony TV, which airs Indian Idol, for bringing Anu Malik back on the show. Singer Sona Mohapatra, who called out Anu Malik last year, also slammed the network and singer Sonu Nigam for supporting the composer.
In a note that Sona put up on Twitter, she asked if takes a Nirbhaya-level tragedy for the country to wake up.
“Neha Bhasin was all of 21 & had to run, she shared her Anu Malik trauma, just this morning on Twitter. Shweta Pandit was 15 when he tried kissing her, Anu's own family doctor's daughter, was 14 years old when he unzipped in a car ride with her & countless other women shared their Me Too stories about Anu Malik, including Danice D'Souza, Ex Indian Idol Producer who mentioned crew members had already complained to higher ups about Malik's behaviour with them & contestants & were ignored.” she wrote.
She went on to add that calling people out led to her being asked to leave as a judge on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, and that she was labelled as a troublemaker.
“Sonu Nigam championed the cause of Anu Malik publicly, in media & his right to be earning millions while saying he's his mothers son', 'has sisters he cares for etc to justify his understanding of IndiaMeToo. He called Ram Sampath [Sona Mohapatra’s husband] to keep me in check' & express brotherhood' while calling me a terrorist, a wife vomiting in the media, a crazy woman wanting to take away men's jobs. Must be happy now?” she added.
She also called out Vishal Dadlani, Aditya Narayan and Neha Kakkar for not addressing the issue.
Furthermore, she added that she was told about due process and courts and questioned how many more women need to tell their story for an Indian man to believe them, and to understand that they gain nothing from it.
“What evidence do we show to courts about molestation & sexual predation? Which family will handle this shame of their kids in the open in India? So many of us speaking up publicly & you want more proof?” she added.