Actress Accuses Arindam Sil of Forcing to Sit on His Lap, Kissing Her, He Says 'If She Felt Bad...'

An actress has accused director Arindam Sil of forcefully kissing her during the making of a Bengali film earlier this year. The actress, in a recent interview, has revealed she will be taking a legal action against the filmmaker for apologising and accepting his crime and deceiving the media by claiming that he did the act accidentally.

“First, he demanded that I sit on his lap. I vehemently refused. But he commanded in an authoritative tone, ‘I am saying – sit’. He was so intimidating I didn’t know how to say no. After I sat, he kissed me on my cheek. I was shocked but didn’t know what to do. I swiftly moved away, while he feigned innocence, as if nothing had occurred… People were smiling as if it was some kind of a joke. I told the director about it when he went back in front of the monitor. His reply was: ‘Didn’t you like it?'” she told Times of India.

The victim added the production house of the film assured her that such an incident will not happen again. It was only based on this assurance that she returned to the complete the project. “The production house assured me that such an incident would not recur and that they would guarantee the presence of someone from their end on the floor to ensure my security. They entrusted me with the final decision regarding whether I desired to proceed with the shoot. With that assurance, I returned to shoot. It was a traumatic experience for me, but as a professional, I didn’t halt the shooting since it would impact numerous others,” she told the publication.

Reacting to Arindam’s public statement that he did kissed her ‘accidentally’, the victim added, “If a predator can go to this length after apologising to me, I will have to seek legal advice.” The incident allegedly took place on the sets of Ekti Khunir Sandhane Mitin.

Speaking about the allegations and his statement, Arindam Sil said, “There is nothing on my mind right now. I am extremely clear in my conscience. I am sorry if she has felt bad for any unintentional act of mine. I am seeking expert advice. For the rest, I leave it to time. People have the right to say whatever they want to. But I guess they don’t know the truth.”

Arindam Sil was suspended by the Directors’ Association of Eastern India (DAEI) following the complaint.