Actor Sandhya Mridul has voiced her support for Tanushree Dutta amid the controversy surrounding the latter’s remarks about veteran actor Nana Patekar following his demise, stressing that a person’s death does not erase the harm they may have caused.
Without naming anyone directly, Sandhya shared a series of social media posts highlighting the experiences of survivors and the importance of acknowledging their pain even when public tributes celebrate the life of a deceased person.
In one post, she wrote, “A person’s death does not automatically erase the harm they may have caused. Abuse does not become untrue because the abuser is gone, and the experiences of survivors do not become less real in the face of public tributes.”
Emphasising that grief and accountability can coexist, Sandhya added that while people may mourn someone who has died, others may continue to carry pain associated with that person. She cautioned that when public discourse allows only praise, survivors can feel that their experiences and truth are being erased once again.
In another post, the actor declared her solidarity with survivors, writing, “A survivor lives with it for as long as they live. I will always stand with the survivor. #metoo.”
Sandhya’s posts come after Tanushree sparked a debate with her remarks about Nana following news of his demise on Thursday. In a video shared on social media, Tanushree referred to the late actor as “Evil Dead”, drawing criticism from some quarters.
The controversy traces its roots to 2008, when Tanushree accused Nana of sexually harassing her on the sets of the film Horn ‘OK’ Pleassss. Her allegations later became part of the wider public conversation around workplace harassment during India’s #MeToo movement.
Sandhya’s comments have brought renewed attention to the experiences of survivors and the challenges they face in ensuring their accounts are not overshadowed by tributes to those accused of wrongdoing.
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