Sacred Games actor Elnaaz Norouzi has alleged sexual harassment at the hands of director of Namaste England, Vipul Shah.

Iranian actor Elnaaz Norouzi who played a pivotal part in the Netflix series Sacred Games has accused director Vipul Shah of sexual harassment. She recounted her harrowing experience to Mid-Day. She narrated her interactions with Vipul Shah and alleged that he always tried to touch her inappropriately and tried to kiss her at various occasions. She shares that she was being considered for a part in his film Namaste England, that hit the theatres today.

She writes that she met Vipul Shah during the pre-production of his film Namaste England. Her manager informed her that she would be cast as the second lead, the role was earlier offered to Jacqueline Fernandez. When she met Vipul, he spoke to her as if they would go ahead with casting her in the film and he said that we need to do a look test and sign the papers. This was when she hadn’t even auditioned for the film. Elnaaz writes that a few days later her audition was taken on Versova beach.

Vipul Shah got back to her saying that this is not what he wanted so she met him again at his office and again he said that we will sign the papers soon. While she was leaving, he came on to her and was too close for her comfort. He gave her a peck.

After the meeting Elnaaz shared with her manager that Vipul Shah is serious about casting her and so her manager kept chasing Vipul who did not respond. She got in touch with Vipul again who said that he would likfe to conduct another audition and he made her feel like she was the ‘planet’s worst actor’. She felt she was auditioning but not able to crack the part, only to realize later that it was his way of calling her to his office on some pretext or other.

When they met at his office again, he tried to kiss her. She backed off and pushed him away, but he did not apologise. When she asked her when they were going to start shooting the film, he said that they would begin with Punjab schedule and then London schedule and that her part would only be shot in London.

“He wanted me to get familiar with and . So he told me that he would make sure that I get to Punjab,” she writes.

She did another set of auditions and again Vipul Shah told her that he would have to see if he can do workshops with her to cast her. During this meeting, Vipul again tried to touch her inappropriately. She left citing ill health and left the country for another professional commitment.

When she returned and contacted Vipul about the film, he called her to Patiala. She did another audition there in his presence. After the audition, they went up together since they were in the same hotel. She asked him about the film’s story but he avoided narrations.

He said, “Come to my room, I will make you hear the script.” He touched her butt and dragged her towards him. She later joined everyone for dinner. A crew member confirmed to Mid-Day that Elnaaz was in Patiala for no apparent reason since Shah was only considering her for the part and she wasn’t signed.

For the next 2 months, she waited to get confirmation from Vipul, who only kept delaying it. When she cracked the part in Sacred Games, she told Vipul, who told her to skip the offer since they would make her do nude scenes.

“He kept asking me to skip the offer. He still had not signed a contract with me for Namaste England. I was mentally tortured for three months. It was evident that if I slept with him, I would get the part. Every time I went to his office, he tried (to hit) on me. He (would) inappropriately touch me, and (try to) kiss me,” Elnaaz has written.

She said that she didn’t take it to the police since she was a foreigner and Vipul is a stronger figure. “The only reason I am sharing this is because I want these kinds of disgusting people to stop misusing their power,” she concludes.

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