Tanushree Dutta faced backlash after Nana Patekar died, but actors Sandhya Mridul and Sona Mohapatra supported her. Sandhya said, "A person's death does not automatically erase the harm they may have caused." Many people questioned if survivors must hide their truth just because an abuser is gone from the world.
Tanushree Dutta's reaction to Nana Patekar's death has drawn widespread criticism from sections of the film industry and social media users. However, actors such as Sandhya Mridul and singer Sona Mohapatra have come out in support of Tanushree, questioning whether a person's death automatically erases the harm they may have caused.
Taking to Instagram, Sandhya Mridul wrote, "A person's death does not automatically erase the harm they may have caused. Abuse does not become untrue because the abuser is gone, and the experience of survivors does not become less real in the face of public tributes. It is possible to mourn someone, and it is also important to remember that there may be people carrying pain connected to them."
She added, "When only praise is allowed and survivors are forgotten, it can feel like their truth disappears all over again."
Sandhya Mridul also shared a post that read, "Does a person stop being an abuser when they die? Does the harm they caused disappear too? For survivors, it doesn't."
She wrote in the caption, "A survivor lives with it for as long as they live. I will always stand with the survivor." The actor accompanied her caption with the hashtag #MeToo.
Sona Mohapatra, too, released a video supporting Tanushree Dutta and speaking out against the criticism directed at the actor.
"I am practically the most unpopular person in the room. Not because I enjoy it, nobody does. But because I have never mastered the art of keeping quiet," she began.
The singer continued, "Nana Patekar passed away yesterday. A celebrated actor, people are mourning him, understandably so. I have no issues with that. But what's disturbing me is the way people are attacking Tanushree Dutta."
Questioning the criticism, Sona Mohapatra asked what people expected Tanushree Dutta to do.
"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 is expected to forget her experience and perform what for you? Grief? That will comfort you?" she said.
Sona also criticised female content creators and influencers who, she alleged, were humiliating another woman for speaking about her experience.
Recalling her own experiences, the singer said she understood the personal and professional costs of speaking up. Addressing the questions survivors are often asked, she said, "People ask why didn't you go to the court? Where is the proof?"
The singer further questioned whether women could realistically be expected to have evidence of every incident of harassment. "Do you go to work wearing hidden cameras in such situations? Does harassment conveniently happen before witnesses?" she asked.
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Sona then posed another question: "Why do we associate old age with virtue and death with sainthood?" She added, "Dying shouldn't erase uncomfortable chapters of someone's life."
She maintained that while people had every right to mourn a person's passing, they could not expect a woman to rewrite her own history to make their grief more comfortable. She also called attention to what she described as double standards in the way men are celebrated despite behaviour that may be considered rude or offensive.
Sharing the video, Sona Mohapatra wrote in the caption, "There is no connection between talent, doing charity, popularity and being a misogynist/molester. Also, growing old doesn't make anyone morally infallible. Dying doesn't erase uncomfortable chapters of someone's life."
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Nana Patekar's death on October 8 prompted tributes from across the film industry. Tanushree Dutta, who was travelling to Lucknow for an event, expressed condolences to his family but admitted she was unsure how to react to the news. However, her use of the phrase "evil dead" did not go down well with many social media users, who began trolling the actor.
In another video, Tanushree said she was just 24 when the alleged sexual harassment incident took place on the sets of Horn Ok Pleasss. Claiming that she had faced sustained harassment over the years, she described Nana as "sadistic, sick psychopath."