Shilpa Shinde is the latest entrant in Lock Upp as a wild card contestant. The actor grabbed headlines last month after she revealed that the sexual harassment complaint she filed against Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain producer Sanjay Kohli was false. As the topic of the case was being discussed in the show, only inmate Akanksha Chamola spoke in defense of her and said she must have felt cornered to take such a step.
What Akanksha said
Co-host Riteish Deshmukh asked the inmates to share their own personal opinions on the false harrasment case, to which almost everyone said that this was a grave accusation that could ruin someone’s life forever. Akanksha then said, “Being a woman mujhe aisa lagta hain ki kahi na kahi woh woman itni helpless hogi ki shayad usko yahi zariya dikh raha hoga (I feel as a woman that she must have felt helpless and could not see any other way out).”
She added, “I am not supporting what she has done, but I am just trying to face the fact that ap agar bohot badey insaan se larr rahe ho aur koi bhi topic pe lad rahe ho, aur ap dekh rahe ho ki uske paas usse jyada hold hain over everything else, toh maybe she was cornered. Because whatever said and done, she is still working now with the same producer (If one is fighting with someone that big on any topic, they see how much hold that person has).”
Shilpa Shinde’s confession
During a recent podcast with comedian Bharti Singh and Haarsh Limbachiyaa, Shilpa admitted that she filed a false sexual harassment case against Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain producer Sanjay Kohli a decade ago, after she left the show and wasn’t paid her dues. Shinde claimed she felt “cornered” at the time and found the accusations as a last resort. The actor also admitted that the case ended in a settlement, and she was paid her dues.
Shilpa’s revelation has drawn sharp criticism from several actors, including Pooja Bedi and Hina Khan, who have publicly condemned her for filing what she now says was a false complaint. In addition, the All India Cine Workers Association (AICWA) took to Instagram and issued a statement saying that Shilpa’s admission of levelling false sexual harassment allegations against Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain producer Sanjay Kohli is a matter of “concern” for the entire Bollywood and television industry.
Lock Upp is available to stream on Netflix.