Actor and former CINTAA senior executive committee member Amit Behl has spoken about handling the MeToo movement within the entertainment industry, claiming that while most allegations were genuine, some cases lacked substance including Tanushree Dutta’s case against Nana Patekar and Horn Ok Pleassss director Rakesh Sarang. Amit also reflected on the emotional toll the movement took on him and the shocking names that surfaced during the period.
‘70% cases were genuine, but 30% were false’
Talking about the MeToo movement, Amit told Siddharth Kannan, “About 70% cases were genuine, but 30% were false.” Referring to the case that sparked the movement in Bollywood, he said he personally felt the allegations made by Tanushree Dutta did not have enough substance.“Personally, I felt the case that triggered the movement initially did not have enough substance. There was no physical assault involved, it was more about body shaming,” he said while referencing Tanushree’s allegations against Nana Patekar and Rakesh Sarang, the director of the 2009 film Horn Ok Pleassss.
‘Some names genuinely shocked me’
Amit further revealed that he was deeply shaken seeing several prominent names emerge during the MeToo wave. “I won’t take names, but there were some names that genuinely shocked me. Even today, I’m shocked. These are secrets I’ll probably carry to my grave,” he said.According to him, the people accused included producers, actors and directors. “Some people tried to pressure us into covering their side — sometimes politely, sometimes through media channels,” he added.He also recalled that while some accused individuals denied the allegations strongly, others attempted to influence narratives surrounding their cases.
‘The movement also brought positive change’
Despite his criticism of some allegations, Amit acknowledged that the movement led to important structural changes within the entertainment industry.“Because of that movement, many buried issues came out. POSH committees were formed. Today, every major production house and channel has guidelines and internal committees — whether it’s Netflix, Amazon, Excel Entertainment or Rajan Shahi’s office,” he said.Amit also mentioned casting director Mukesh Chhabra while discussing how workplaces began prominently displaying POSH committee information after the movement gained momentum.
‘Listening to survivors was traumatic’
The actor also opened up about the emotional impact of hearing survivors recount their experiences in detail. Amit remembered representing CINTAA during a media panel discussion featuring actress Raveena Tandon and writer-producer Vinta Nanda along with other survivors.“Listening to them felt like watching a horrifying film unfold in front of me,” he admitted. “That day, for the first time, I felt ashamed of being a man.”He added that the experience left him emotionally exhausted for months, especially while simultaneously balancing acting assignments and late-night calls from people narrating traumatic experiences.Amit revealed that the prolonged stress eventually took a toll on his health.“I carried the burden of the whole world on my shoulders. Eventually, I had a bypass surgery. Thankfully, by God’s grace, I recovered,” he said.