Photographs: Jayesh Seth Ankur Pathak in Mumbai
Actress Sayali Bhagat seems to be playing musical chairs with the media. After claiming she was molested by various actors and that it had forced her to 'quit' Bollywood, she's now made a complete turnaround and says she was misquoted.
Following reports that she is doing all this just for publicity, the former Miss India attempts to set the record straight.
Following reports that she is doing all this just for publicity, the former Miss India attempts to set the record straight.
"I have been miserably misquoted and assumed to be doing and saying things which are not even remotely true. I understand people have to sell their magazines, but the way I have been written about shows that a lot of liberty has been taken by the journalists who did this."
Sayali says even when she tried to clear the controversies she was believed to be hogging the limelight. "When I went to clarify it, they accused me of backtracking from what I had said in order to gain further publicity, totally ignoring that I never said those things in the first place."
'I think Shiney has become a soft target'
Photographs: Jayesh Seth
Much of the controversy has emanated from the sets of her upcoming film, Ghost, co-starring Shiney Ahuja, but these were just work-related issues, she says.
"Whatever happened on the sets of our film were pure professional conflicts which were reported to be personal. I think Shiney has become a very soft target after what he has gone through and that makes it easy for people in the media to sensationalise stories and benefit from them."
But why has she not tried to figure out who is out to defame her?
"Initially, when the reports of me accusing Shiney of sexual molestation came out, I took it lightly because I thought this is bound to happen. But I was gravely mistaken as later on, there were reports that I have accused senior personalities of misbehaving with me."
'The Milan modelling industry is very competitive'
Photographs: Jayesh Seth
So what steps is she taking to catch the culprit?
"I did go to the police like a regular citizen, filed an FIR, and the investigations are on but right now I am not in a position to say anything about it. Once I know, you will know too. The cybercrime unit is investigating as to who has sent such malicious e-mails to the press and surprisingly even the Mumbai police has been very co-operative."
The actress feels she is sufficiently well known not to have to resort to such tactics.
"Do you think after winning the Miss India title, working in more than 30 advertisements, walking the ramp for almost all the designers, and doing reasonable films in Bollywood, I really need to resort to such cheap tactics for publicity?" she demands.
But she has been absent from the film scene for a considerably long time, and attention grabbing gimmicks of this kind are not unknown.
Asked point blank whether Shiney, or other actors who she allegedly accused, from Amitabh Bachchan to Arya Babbar, really misbehaved with her, she answers somewhat evasively: "I find it funny to justify all of this or to deny the accusations because I never made them in the first place. It's like a hoax bomb scare."
'I can't really quit and vanish'
Photographs: Jayesh Seth
Quiz her on why she vanished from the scene and is hardly seen in films, and she says that modelling and endorsements have taken up her time.
"I have been doing a lot. Of course I didn't have a Bollywood film release for a year, but I did have Tamil and Telugu releases. I also put more focus on modelling."
Then for some totally random reason, she goes on to boast of her educational qualifications.
"My family has got law firms of their own and I have done my Business Management in Finance from Jamnalal Bajaj."
Is it true she is quitting Bollywood to pursue a modelling career in Italy? "I was in Milan to pursue a modelling career back in 2005 but found the industry there too competitive. So I came back and started in films. I absolutely am not going anywhere and have got contracts for as long as three years with the brands I endorse, so I can't really quit and vanish."
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