Bhubaneswar: Revelation of WhatsApp chats among leading ladies of the Odia film industry on Friday has raised a storm in Ollywood. Precisely speaking, in their WhatsApp conversation, actresses Prakruti Mishra, Jasmine Rath, and other artists have accused producer Sanjay Nayak alias Tutu Nayak of exploiting newcomers.
With this, the ghost of the casting couch has returned to haunt Ollywood again.
Sharing her experience with a media outlet, Jasmine Rath said she was thrown out of a film for refusing to meet Tutu Nayak at a club in Bhubaneswar. “I had a professional meeting with him about 4-6 months and he was worried how I would be able to manage dates since I was doing a serial and was under contract. He then asked me to join him at a club. But it was already 10.00 pm and I was shooting for Manoj Mishra’s ‘Hi Krushan’. So, I declined. The very next morning to my dismay, I found out that I was removed from the movie,” Jasmine said.
Jasmine further said that not content with dropping her from his film, Nayak went on a character assassination drive against her because of which she lost some more movies for which discussions were on.
When asked if newcomers also faced such problems, the actress replied, “If someone like me, who has spent seven years in the industry, is facing situations like this, newcomers are definitely being asked to compromise to get good offers.”
Earlier, Prakruti told a local television channel that Tutu Nayak had only worked as manager of production houses but was laid off. “His father was a renowned producer and he has not produced any film recently. He instead lured many newcomers with the false assurance of launching them in movies. Several people associated with him also ‘exploited’ newcomers,” she claimed.
“Though I have not encountered such a situation, I was informed that he trapped many girls and ruined their lives, the actress added.
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference at his residence on Friday, Tutu Nayak described the allegations as baseless and in bad taste. “I will file a defamation case against Prakruti and others who are trying to malign my reputation,” he warned.
