Ajay Devgn defends working with Alok Nath, says ‘near impossible to re-shoot film with another actor’ | Bollywood - Hindustan Times
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Ajay Devgn defends working with Alok Nath, says ‘near impossible to re-shoot film with another actor’

Hindustan Times | By
Apr 18, 2019 08:31 PM IST

Ajay Devgn has spoken up about working with Alok Nath in the film De De Pyaar De and why he could not replace the actor after his name emerged during the MeToo movement.

Actor Ajay Devgn has finally spoken on working with rape accused Alok Nath in his upcoming film De De Pyaar De, a day after Tanushree Dutta criticised him for the move. Alok was accused of rape by writer Vinta Nanda in 2018. Ajay has now said in an official statement that the makers had already shot the portions starring Alok Nath before the allegations came out in October last year.

Alok Nath and Ajay Devgn in a still from De De Pyaar De trailer.
Alok Nath and Ajay Devgn in a still from De De Pyaar De trailer.

According to a report in Times Now, Ajay has clarified, “This film was supposed to be an October 2018 release. The shoot of the film got over by last September. The portions with Mr. Alok Nath were canned by August in Manali. The said portions were shot over 40 days across various sets and an outdoor location with a combination of over 10 actors. By the time the allegations came out (in October 2018) the actors in the film including me had already started work on other films. It would be near impossible to get all the dates and combinations of the several actors in the film and attempt a re-shoot with some other actor replacing Mr Nath. It would also have been a huge monetary loss for the producers. Everyone is aware that film-making is a collaborative process.” 

Ajay also asserted that he could not have replaced Alok Nath after he was named in the MeToo movement. He said, “The decision to replace Mr Alok Nath could never have been mine alone. In this case, I would have to go with the joint-decision of the entire unit. Not to forget, I could not have brought the entire combination of actors back or put up sets again for a 40-day re-shoot because this would mean doubling the budget, which again wasn’t my call to make. It would have to be the call of the makers. Had circumstances played out even slightly differently, I would have pushed for a different combination of actors. Unfortunately, this was not to be.”

The actor also claimed that he stands by his support for the MeToo movement. He said that he respects every single woman at the workplace and would not stand for any unfairness or atrocity against them.

Also read: After Alia Bhatt, Kangana Ranaut’s sister Rangoli sets her target on Ajay Devgn, says ‘these men are intoxicated with money’

Besides Ajay and Alok, De De Pyaar De also stars Tabu, Rakul Preet Singh, Jimmy Sheirgill and Javed Jaffrey.

Tanushree Dutta, who is credit for kick-starting the MeToo movement in India had called Ajay a hypocrite in her statement, “Tinsel town is full of liars, show-offs and spineless hypocrites. And it seems by a large public consensus that the signpost is pointing currently at Ajay Devgn, but no, they had to keep the alleged rapist in their film and rub it on not only (accuser Vinta Nanda’s) but on all our faces.” She had also said, “Nobody even knew before the posters and trailers that Alok Nath is in the film so if Ajay Devgan and the makers wanted they could have just quietly replaced him and re-shot his portions.”

Actor Kangana Ranaut’s sister Rangoli Chandel had responded to Tanushree’s statement saying, “It is because of these men our country is a black spot on world map as far as crimes against women are concerned,shame on you Bollywood for mocking for mocking #MeToo.”

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