Ajay Devgn after released the trailer of his upcoming film, ‘De De Pyar De’ was criticized for choosing to work with Alok Nath in spite of the sexual harassment accusations against him. The actor in a statement said it was the maker’s decision to keep the Alok’s scenes in the film and he shouldn’t be the only held responsible for it.
“When the #MeToo movement happened, I along with many of my film industry colleagues categorically expressed that I respect every single woman at the workplace and I would not stand for any unfairness or atrocity against them. Nothing about my stand has changed. I reiterate I am extremely sensitive to the #MeToo movement. But when circumstances are beyond me, I don’t see why an attempt is being made to ‘single’ me out as being insensitive. This is untrue,” he said in a Statement.
He made an official comment after actress Tanushree Dutta and writer Vinta Nanda who alleged that Alok raped her criticized him. While Tanushree called him “morally bankrupt and a spineless hypocrite”, Vinta Nanda said she “did not expect anything” from him.
Talking about working with Alok Nath in the film he added, the film was supposed to be an October 2018 release. “The said portions were shot over 40 days across various sets and an outdoor location with a combination of over 10 actors. By the time the allegations surfaced (in October 2018) the actors in the film, including me, had already started work on other films.”
“It would also have been a huge monetary loss for producers. The decision to replace Alok Nath could never have been mine alone. In this case, I had to go with the joint decision of the unit. Not to forget, I could not have brought the entire combination of actors back or put up sets again for a 40-day re-shoot.” Also, it could have meant doubling of budget, which again wasn’t my call to make, he added.
He went on to say it wasn’t possible to reshoot the parts with another actor before release, “It would have to be the call of the makers. Had circumstances played out even slightly differently, I would have pushed for a different combination of actors. Unfortunately, this was not to be.”
“De De Pyaar De”, a romantic comedy, stars Tabu, Ajay and Rakul Preet, the film tells a story of how a 50-year-old falls for a girl much younger than him, and what happens when she meets his former wife and kids of the same age.
Releasing on May 17th the film is written and co-produced by Luv Ranjan and directed by Akiv Ali.
