Dalip Tahil Reveals How A Director Once Asked Him To Tear A Girl’s Clothes Without Consent

The ongoing #MeToo movement which started with actress Tanushree Dutta’s sexual harassment allegations against veteran actor Nana Patekar has rocked the Bollywood industry to its core. In the wake of the revolutionary movement, several renowned names from the film industry have been ripped apart with charges of sexual misbehavior. Vikas Bahl, Alok Nath, Kailash Kher, Anu Malik, Sajid Khan, Ganesh Acharya, it’s a towering list to be written down.

However, amidst all the negativity that has overshadowed the Indian film industry at the moment, long-serving actor Dalip Tahil’s story is one we can be proud of.

Dalip Tahil, who has worked in massive Bollywood hits like Baazigar, Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, Mann, Ram Lakhan, Ishq and many more, sat down with Hindustan Times to reveal his experience.

Narrating an incident that took place twenty-five years ago, Dalip Tahil said that he was asked to do a rape scene at that time. The 65-year-old went on to add that the director of the film asked him to tear the girl’s clothes apart without her consent and do a few more things. Though Dalip refused to highlight the name of the director, he mentioned that the director also promised him of not informing the actress about what’s going to happen.

“Twenty-five years ago, I was doing a similar scene. It was one of those movies that had a rape scene. The director, whose name I won’t take, actually told me, ‘When you’re doing the scene, tear the girl’s clothes apart, do this and that, but we won’t tell her.’

However, in an act of immense dignity, Dalip refused to go ahead with the scene. He termed it an obscene thing to do and straightaway informed the actress about the director’s plan. The situation forced the director to ran away.

“I flatly refused! I said, ‘This is such an immoral thing to do.’ The girl was new, and she had to make a living. I went in the opposite direction: I called the girl and said, ‘Do you know this is what they’re planning to do?’ The director was aghast and almost ran away. The girl was so upset; she burst into tears and ran into a room.”

According to Deccan Chronicle, the girl who broke down to tears on hearing the intentions of the filmmaker was consoled by Dalip and other members of the crew. The senior actor also made sure that there is nothing that wasn’t planned for and the actress feels comfortable on set.

“In those days, there were no mobile phones, only the raw stock camera, and the director would be in charge. He’d never do it (film her consent), so we got the girl to come out, told her that there would be nothing that wasn’t planned or out of her comfort zone, and we did it. For many years after that, I didn’t do such scenes, until now.”

You have our respect, Sir. The industry is in dire need of professional and moral actors like you.