#MeToo: Ajay Devgn finally breaks his silence and explains why he worked with Alok Nath in De De Pyaar De
18 Apr 2019
Over the past couple of days, Ajay Devgn who vehemently spoke out about the #MeToo movement drew flack for apparently working with Alok Nath who has been accused of sexual misconduct. Post his statement that he would not work with any person accused of sexual harassment, Devgn ended up at the receiving end for working with Alok Nath in the upcoming film De De Pyar De.Reacting to the individuals who termed him a hypocrite, Ajay Devgn released a statement explaining what actually happened. Read on to see what he had to say. When the entire #MeToo Movement happened, I along with many of my film industry colleagues categorically expressed that I respect every single woman at the work place and I would not stand for any unfairness or atrocity against them. Nothing about my stand has changed. Coming to the question of having worked with Mr Alok Nath in my upcoming film De De Pyar De , here I must put certain things in perspective. This film was supposed to be an October 2018 release. The shoot of the film got over by last September. The portions with Mr. Alok Nath were canned by August in Manali. The said portions were shot over 40 days across various sets and an outdoor location with a combination of over 10 actors. By the time the allegations came out (in October 2018) the actors in the film including me had already started work on other films.It would be near impossible to get all the dates and combinations of the several actors in the film and attempt a re-shoot with some other actor replacing Mr Nath. It would also have been a huge monetary loss for the producers.Everyone is aware that film-making is a collaborative process.The decision to replace Mr Alok Nath could never have been mine alone. In this case, I would have to go with the joint-decision of the entire unit. Not to forget, I could not have brought the entire combination of actors back or put up sets again for a 40-day re-shoot because this would mean doubling the budget, which again wasnt my call to make. It would have to be the call of the makers. Had circumstances played out even slightly differently, I would have pushed for a different combination of actors. Unfortunately, this was not to be. I reiterate I am extremely sensitive to the #MeToo movement. But when circumstances are beyond me, I dont see why an attempt is being made to `single me out as being insensitive. This is untrue.
