Elnaaz Norouzi, Sacred Games actress has alleged that ‘Namastey England’ director Vipul Amrutlal Shah has sexually harassed her.
Narrating her story to Mid-Day, Shah kept her in the running for a role in Namaste England but kept actually gave her the role.” I met him again in his office, and again he mentioned, “We will sign the papers over the next couple of days.” This time, when we were saying bye, he came on to me. It was too close for comfort. I didn’t get the right vibe. He gave a peck on my face. I didn’t expect it,” she said.
“Basically, I went through six rounds of auditions for the film, and he made me feel like the planet’s worst actor. My confidence was shattered. I kept feeling like I was auditioning, and not cracking the part. It was only later I realised that this was his way of calling me to his office, over and over again, to get closer to me,” she added.
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The Iranian model-turned-actor had alleged that Shah always tried to touch her inappropriately and tried to kiss her on various occasions. “The next time we met at his office, he tried to kiss me. I backed off, said, “What are you doing? We are in your office!” I pushed him away, being affirmative; but careful enough not to come across as rude, because I really wanted the film, ” the actress said.
Elnaaz said Vipul got her to come to the shoot location for Namaste England in Patiala without ever signing her up for the film where he took another audition of her. During this audition, Vipul again tried to touch her inappropriately, “Come to my room. I will make you hear the script. At this point, he touched my butt, and dragged me towards himself. I dodged him, went to my room, and sat there wondering if I should just give in.”
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Meanwhile, Elnaaz bagged a role in Netflix’s Sacred Games and says that Vipul tried his best to make her quit the project. “He said that he would launch me in a big way. It was a girl-next-door part in Namaste England, and that he was clear he would not be able to cast me, as a result of Sacred Games, and that I should skip the offer, since they would make me do nude scenes,” she said.
She said that she didn’t take the matter to the police as it might have caused her visa problem, “Vipul is a stronger figure. I am a foreign national. They could create visa issues for me.”
“The only reason I am sharing this is because I want these kinds of disgusting people to stop misusing their power. There are many like Vipul. There shall be more stories, if we see that things don’t change,” she added.