Singer Sona Mohapatra has spoken up in support of Tanushree Dutta after Nana Patekar’s death. In a video she posted on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, she called out the hypocrisy of those celebrating Nana’s legacy to expect Tanushree not to talk about the sexual harassment she went through. The singer also hit back at those who claimed Nana deserved more respect for his philanthropy.
Sona Mohapatra questions what Nana Patekar fans expect from Tanushree Dutta
In her X caption, Sona wrote, “Death deserves dignity. So do the living. Mourning an actor is 1 thing. Demanding that a woman who spoke up about her trauma just shut up is another #India. Since when did death erase uncomfortable truths? Old age a virtue? Death = Sainthood? #TanushreeDutta #MeToo #NanaPatekar.”
Mentioning that she has gotten used to being the most unpopular person in a room because she cannot keep quiet when something is wrong, she added, “Nana Patekar passed away yesterday, a celebrated actor, people are mourning him, understandably so. I have no issues with that. What’s disturbing me is the way people are attacking Tanushree Dutta. Seriously, what do you expect from her?”
She mentioned that Tanushree faced a lot for calling out Nana publicly, saying, “This woman spoke up about her sexual harassment on sets with this gentleman. Fought an exhausting battle. Faced a public humiliation and professional consequences. And now, she’s supposed to forget her experience and perform what for you? Grief? That’ll comfort you?”
Calls out those criticising Tanushree Dutta
She called out women for joining in the cacophony of voices against Tanushree and slammed them, “Really? Is humiliating another woman your idea of engagement?” Sona also pointed out, “Dying shouldn’t erase uncomfortable chapters of someone’s life. You can celebrate an artist’s work, mourn his passing, and offer his family compassion. But you cannot demand that a woman rewrite her own history to make your mourning comfortable.”
Sona also pointed out that while Nana is celebrated for being ‘muffat’ (blunt), no woman would be for being ‘downright rude’. “Tanushree Dutta is entitled to her account of what happened. And if your compassion requires humiliating a woman who spoke up, it’s definitely not compassion. It’s your hypocrisy. Death deserves dignity, so do the living,” she said.
When an Instagram-user claimed that Sona was talking about a person who donated ‘most of his income to the farmers and the poor’ and questioned why ‘only one woman’ raised her voice against him, Sona wondered why charity cancels out misconduct, mentioning Jimmy Savile from Britain. She also pointed out that the question of ‘why only one woman’ was ‘troubling’.
Nana Patekar died in Goa at the age of 75 from cardiac arrest on October 8. Tanushree has since received flak for saying ‘evil dead’ in her reaction to the news. She had also posted a video, wondering why she was expected to forgive someone who never apologised to her or accept his mistake.