Elnaaz Norouzi blames Bollywood film-maker of harassing her
Basically, I went through six rounds of auditions for the film, and he made me feel like the planet’s worst actor
Growing Iranian diva, Elnaaz Norouzi, who marked her debut with Pakistani film Maan Jao Na, long before she took off to Netflix’s Sacred Games, has accused famous Bollywood movie producer Vipul Shah of sexually harassing her for three months.
In an interview, the 26-year-old actor revealed that the Namaste England director endeavored to unsuitably get closer to her at whatever point she went to his office. She blamed him for inappropriate behavior and mishandling his capacity as a producer.
Reviewing the occurrences, Norouzi talked about meeting Vipul Shah and how he wanted her to be in his film Namaste England. He would consider her for tryouts and after that give her input in his office, where he would try to get far too close.
Recalling one of the incidents Elnaaz said, “When I asked Vipul, he said he wanted to conduct another audition. Basically, I went through six rounds of auditions for the film, and he made me feel like the planet’s worst actor. My confidence was shattered. I kept feeling like I was auditioning, and not cracking the part. It was only later I realized that this was his way of calling me to his office, over and over again, to get closer to me.”
“The next time we met at his office, he tried to kiss me. I backed off, said, ‘What are you doing? We are in your office!’ I pushed him away, being affirmative; but careful enough not to come across as rude, because I really wanted the film,” she added.
While speaking about losing Namaste England, she said, “At that point, I took the offer to Vipul. He said that he would launch me in a big way. It was a girl-next-door part in the film.”
She additionally remarked on how he proposed her to reject the offer to work in Netflix’s first Indian web series, Sacred Games as the producers would influence her to do explicit scenes.
“I was ready to let go of Sacred Games, when a friend of mine made me go back to the makers of the show, and ask them what my scenes were going to be like. I told Vipul that I had no (nude) scenes in the series and I had read the script,” shared the diva.
“He kept asking me to skip the offer. He still had not signed a contract with me for Namaste England. I was mentally tortured for three months. It was evident that if I slept with Vipul, I would get the part. Every time I went to his office, he tried (to hit) on me. He (would) inappropriately touch me, and (try to) kiss me,” she added.
Elnaaz stood her ground and opposed the majority of his advances. Additionally expressing, she could have taken this issue to police however she didn’t accept it as she felt that police would not have helped her.
“As a foreigner, I didn’t know enough about my rights. And I strongly believe in karma. I know this happens to women everywhere, not just in Bollywood. No one wants to jeopardize their jobs. Vipul is a stronger figure. They could create visa issues for me. I have had it hard enough here, already. So I was scared,” she concluded.
The producer is yet to address the charges.