In the wake of #MeToo Movement, Bollywood celebs like Vikas Bahl, Alok Nath, Rajat Kapoor and Subhash Ghai have been accused of sexual harassment by a number of women. Filmmaker Sajid Khan has been accused of harassment by four women – a journalist, a former assistant, and two actors. Actresses Bipasha Basu and Dia Mirza also levelled allegations and termed him as sexist, rude and uncomfortable.
In a video which went viral on social media, we can see the director himself confessing that he used to treat women badly in his earlier days. He has been quoted as saying, “I have been in and out of so many relationships that I have learnt.. I was a big dog in my 20s.. bada kameena aadmi tha…”
He went on to say, “I have broken a lot of hearts, I have lied, I have cheated, I have deceived, like most of the guys do. But I was on television, I was getting successful, I was getting brashier. I was treating women very badly. All the nice girls in my life I have treated badly.”
He also shared that while in his 20s he treated women badly, in his 30s, he began to concentrate on his work – films. “I started concentrating on filmmaking and when you start making films you don’t mentally start getting very attracted to women – doesn’t mean that you get attracted to men. You only start thinking about your films – it becomes a big responsibility and I am sure every filmmaker will agree with me.”
He also stepped down from the director’s post of Housefull 4.
Also read: #MeToo: Sajid Khan steps down as director of Housefull 4