#MeToo: 'I cried endlessly' - Now singer Shweta Pandit accuses Anu Malik of sexual harassment when she was 15

Singer Shweta Pandit is the latest one to launch fresh set of allegations on ace music composer Anu Malik for sexual harassment in the wake of the ongoing #MeToo movement in Bollywood. This comes in days after Sona Mohapatra had called out Kailash Kher for alleged sexual misconduct and had also hinted at Anu Malik being a 'serial predator'. In a long post on Twitter Shweta has not only shared her ordeal, accusing the composer of sexual misconduct back when she was just 15-years-old, calling him a pedophile, she has also thanked Sona for calling him out and urged others who've been exploited by him, to speak up. 

As per Shweta Pandit's Twitter post, the alleged incident took place back in the year 2001 when she was called by Anu Malik's manager for an audition to the studio. She was asked to sit in a small cabin, where she sand the title song of Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karega as a voice test for the composer. Post that, Shweta alleged that Anu Malik told her that he will give her a song with Shaan and Sunidhi Chauhan "...but first give me a kiss now". 

Sharing her #MeToo story on her Twitter account, she wrote, "Had to go back to my worst memory as a teenage girl today to write this and speak up - its now or never. This is my #MeToo and have to warn young girls about #AnuMalik & let you know your #TimesUp @IndiaMeToo Thank you @sonamohapatra for speaking up about him & supporting this"

Here's what she shared:

It has taken a lot in me to open up this wound again and speak up against this pedophile and sexual predator. It was the year 2000 when i was launched as a lead singer with #Mohabbatein (was the youngest singer back then in the Indian music industry) and was trying to get other good songs to follow up with the success of that soundtrack and the outstanding welcome it gave me in the music industry. I got a call from Anu Malik's then manager (Mustafa) to come to #empirestudio in andheri sometime in mid 2001. I was thrilled like any singer would be. I used to admire his music and practice his songs for hours and look upto him back then! He was recording a group song with Sunidhi and Shaan for the film awara Pagal Deewana when my mother and i walked in the monitor room. He told me to wait in the small cabin inside where singers sang at Empire studio. It was just him and me there.

He asked me to sing something without any music as he wanted to hear my voice. I remember i sang the title song of har dil jo pyar karega as a voice test for this man. I sang it well so he said, "ill give you this song with Sunidhi and Shaan but first give me a kiss now" He then smiled, what id recall the most evil grin ive seen I went numb and pale in the face.
I was only 15years ild then, still in school. Can anyone even imagine what it felt that moment? It felt like someone had just stabbed me in my stomach. I referred to this man as "Anu uncle", he knew my entire family for decades and knew us as a respected gharana of musicians for generations who have given our entire lives dedicated to music for 4 generations.

He addressed my father as "Mandheer bhai". And he does this to his bhai's daughter?
He has 3 young daughters of his own and thats how he treated a 15 year old minor girl. It was the worst experience of my life and i could never speak about it even to my parents. I could never ask any help to heal but was depressed for months. I cried endlessly after this incident and it affected my psyche as a young girl, so much that i could have left the industry but i re-thought and fought with my will-power that why should i leave my greated passion for a pedophile like hijm but i still kept struggling for years to bury this inside me. I am sure many singers have been exploited by him as he is a known name for doing this to singers. Id urge those singers/women to share their stories too. 

Check out the full post here:

For those who've come in late, it all started with Tanushree Dutta calling out Nana Patekar for sexually harassing her on the sets of the film Horm OK Please about a decade back. Since then, a number of women from all walks of life have come out on social media to name and shame the predators. Some of the names from B-Town that have been called out for alleged sexual misconduct in the #MeToo movement include the likes of Sajid Khan, Rajat Kapoor, Alok Nath, Chetan Bhagat and others...