In 2018, during the MeToo movement, Tanushree Dutta made headlines when she accused veteran actor Nana Patekar of sexual harassment. Following her allegations, an FIR was filed against Nana Patekar. However, the case was closed within a year due to a lack of substantial evidence and witnesses to support Tanushree's claims, reports Times of India.
Recently, Nana Patekar broke his silence on the controversy and stated that he always knew the accusations were false, which is why he never got angry.
Tanushree had claimed that the song for the 2008 movie Horn Ok Pleassss was meant to feature her alone. Despite this, Nana Patekar was present on set and allegedly tried to get physically close to her under the pretext of teaching her dance steps. This incident left her feeling uncomfortable and unsafe.
Firmly denying the allegations, Nana Patekar told The Lallantop, "I knew it was all false. So, I didn't get angry. When everything was a lie, why would I be angry? And those things are old now, they have already happened. Why talk about them? Everyone knew the truth. When nothing like that happened, what was I supposed to say at that time? Suddenly someone says you did this, you did that. What answer should I give to such things? Should I say that I didn't do it? I know the truth that I did nothing."
The actor also commented on how social media has played a role in shaping public perceptions. He mentioned that he neither reads nor pays attention to what people write about him online, whether it's praise or criticism. He said, "How can I shut anyone's mouth? If someone does something wrong, I will take them to court. But I don't have time for all that either. We should know how right or wrong we are. That's the only important thing."
On the work front, Nana Patekar was seen in a Marathi comedy-drama film Ole Aale, written and directed by Vipul Mehta. He also portrayed the role of Former ICMR Director General Dr Balram Bhargava in the Vivek Agnihotri directorial The Vaccine War. The film that was made on a budget of Rs 10 crore, didn't fare well at the box office owing to stiff competition from other film releases, including the Bollywood comedy 'Fukrey 3'.