Bhubaneswar: Sona Mohapatra spilled the beans on her #MeToo moment, accusing fellow singer Kailash Kher of having harassed her.
A few other women, including a journalist, had accused him of sexual misconduct recently.
Sona posted about Kher’s alleged misconduct in a series of tweets. She claimed that Kher placed his hand on her thigh while she once met him to discuss a ‘forthcoming concert’ with lines like, ‘You’re so beautiful’, ‘feel so good that a musician got you (Ram), not an actor’. .
(1) I met Kailash for coffee in Prithvi Café to discuss a forthcoming concert where both our bands were playing & after the usual, a hand on my thigh with lines likes, your so beautiful, feel so good that a ‘musician got you’ (Ram) not an actor. I left not soon after. (1) https://t.co/Cfz8Hf4sdP
— SONA (@sonamohapatra) October 9, 2018
She said, this, however, did not deter Kher. On her way to the venue in Dhaka, he allegedly kept calling her and later asked her join him in his room.
(2) That did not deter Kailash Kher though. On landing in Dhaka & on my way to the venue with the organisers, keeps calling me & when I don’t pick up, calls the organisers phone to get through to me & asks me to ‘skip’ the soundcheck & join him in his room instead to ‘catch up’ https://t.co/beBehXBLup
— SONA (@sonamohapatra) October 9, 2018
She further tweeted, “The fact that Kailash had sung in my studios and for many projects in which I was the producer and knew me to be as strong as I am or that he had only recently taken a favour from my partner Ram Sampath to create a personal track for him didn’t stop him. The hubris of such men.”
She questioned how long and how many women Kher would apologise to. “Start now. Will take a lifetime,” she wrote.
How many women will you apologise to Kailash Kher??? Start now. Will take a lifetime. (4) ??? https://t.co/yZimwUshoE
— SONA (@sonamohapatra) October 9, 2018
She further said it was disease that he had.
The shamelessness of this man. To call himself ‘simple’, ‘devoted to music’ & even claiming amnesia. If this chap could dare try this stunt with me, it’s a disease that he has & I can vouch for not only these two women’s stories but hundreds more he would’ve have preyed on. ? https://t.co/UaBL2rfz2h
— SONA (@sonamohapatra) October 9, 2018
When questioned on social media for having spoken about this so late, she said it’s her life and her choice.
“To all the people accusing me of being so late about bringing up Kailash Kher’s bad behaviour, I say… my life. My choice. Now go, buzz off. (P.S> If I started tweeting about every creep I encounter in life here, I would be doing this job full time),” she wrote.
Let me clarify, I wasn’t shedding either tears or scared because of Kailash Kher’s behaviour 2 years ago. I have dealt with lots of creeps like him in my life like many others. Only reason I shared this true set of incidents was to corroborate the other women’s claims about him.
— SONA (@sonamohapatra) October 10, 2018
When accused of sexual misconduct before, Kailash had said that he was “extremely disappointed” by the accusations. “For all those who know me and have come across me, will know how much I respect humanity, especially women, even more for the ones who work in media since their work is difficult,” he said.
