#MeToo: Singer Shweta Pandit Accuses Anu Malik Of Sexually Harassing Her When She Was A Minor

Playback Singer Shweta Pandit has recently accused popular music composer Anu Malik of sexually harassing her when she was a minor. Shweta posted a lengthy tweet where she accused Malik by calling him to be a sexual predator, she said that he misbehaved with her when she was new in music industry.

“It was the year 2000 when I was launched as a lead singer with ‘Mohabbatein’ and was trying to get other good songs to follow up with the success of that soundtrack and the outstanding welcome it gave me in the music industry,” she said.

Pandit said that she was a big fan of Annu Malik and she was really happy when she got a call from Annu’s manager to meet him in Andheri’s Empire Studio

“He was recording a group song with Sunidhi and Shaan for the film ‘Awara Pagal Deewana’, when my mother and I walked in the monitor room. He told me to wait in the small cabin inside where singers sang at Empire studio. It was just him and me there,” she said.

The composer than asked singer Shweta to sing some lines from the song to check her voice, “I sang it well so he said, ‘I’ll give you this song with Sunidhi and Shaan but first give me a kiss now’. He then smiled, what I’d recall the most evil grin I’ve seen. I went numb and pale in the face. I was only 15 years old then, still in school,” she said.

“Can anyone even imagine what it felt that moment? It felt like someone had just stabbed me in my stomach. I referred to this man as ‘Anu uncle’ he knew my entire family for decades and knew us as a respected gharana of musicians…,” said Pandit. After this incident Pandit got really depressed and she was not even able to tell her parents about the dark events.

Earlier, singer Sona Mohapatra also called Annu Malik a “serial predator”. After Pandit shared her story, Sona thanked her on twitter, the singer tweeted,

“Sending you love, big healing and strength @ShwetaPandit7. That #AnuMalik did this to you as a child is something #India has to make note of. Thank you so much for being brave and bringing this out in the open. I know how difficult that is and the pressure to let ‘bygones be bygones’.

“That so many people trolled me for my #AnuMalik #TimesUp story scoffing because they think calling me ‘Maal’ or calling up at odd hours doesn’t constitute as sexual harassment. Please note, you don’t know Sh*t. Predators do much worse when they get a chance because of people like you,” she wrote on Twitter.

When PTI asked for Annu Malik response on the matter, he said, “No comments. This is ridiculous. I don’t want to talk about it. Today anyone says anything.”

That so many people trolled me for my #AnuMalik #TimesUp story scoffing because they think calling me ‘Maal’ or calling up at odd hours doesn’t constitute as sexual harassment.Please note,you DONT KNOW SHIT.Predators do much worse when they get a chance because of people like you

— SONA (@sonamohapatra) October 17, 2018

Had to go back to my worst memory as a teenage girl today to write this and speak up - its now or never. This is my #MeToo and have to warn young girls about #AnuMalik & let you know your #TimesUp @IndiaMeToo
Thank you @sonamohapatra for speaking up about him & supporting this pic.twitter.com/e261pGQyEq

— Shweta Pandit (@ShwetaPandit7) October 17, 2018