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Remember actress Payal Ghosh? Exactly a year back she had alleged a MeToo claim on one of the topmost filmmakers of Bollywood. Now, she has claimed that she was recently attacked by a group of men late in the night on Sunday (September 19) when she has gone out to the pharmacy to get some medicines. Talking to Prateek Sur in a small chat, she reveals all that happened on that fateful night. Excerpts:
Please tell us a bit about the attack that happened outside your car?
I just went out because on Sundays my driver doesn't come. I generally don't go out alone and especially after my MeToo case, I don't go out alone and whenever I am going for walk or something at the Joggers Park, I always make sure that my people are around. But this was Sunday, and my driver didn't come, and it was 10:00 o'clock at night. I thought that I would go out and take the medicine. I'll even have a little outing because the whole day I was at home. And then I went to take the medicine. I am not a good driver. So, I parked the car at a place where there were no other cars. Like in just a lane beside the temple. Then when I came out, I suddenly got into that (the incident). I shouted like hell because I was so damn scared. The rod was supposed to be on my head. It just fell on my left arm. I don't know they had some bottles in hand and I really don't know if it was meant for me. If it was meant for somebody else or they were having some kind of fight among themselves. I don't know anything about it. I just parked the car and just came out of it, and I just faced it.
Considering this incident happened exactly a year after you opened up on a popular film director, do you think there is some connection?
See, I really don't know about all those things you are talking about. I don't know if it was a planned thing or not, or if anybody is planning it because the day when I went, on Sunday, it was nothing planned. So, I don't think anybody even knew that I'm going to go out of my home. And that's what I feel. I don't know about that. If anybody is following me continuously, then it's a different issue, but my going out had nothing to do with any plan because I didn't have any plan. I just went out, just like that, and then this happened. If anybody is following me and made this happen, that is a separate thing. But, I don't know, I'm confused.
What happened to that case? Did anything come out fruitful?
Nothing happened to my case. They asked me about the dress I was wearing at that time. I even had that dress, and I gave them everything, whatever they wanted. The phone, the chats, everything, everything, everything, everything and even the dates. Initially, the date was not that right because I was not very much clear about the dates. Then we have given them the exact date by finding out. They didn't take any action and they were just giving me lollipops. So, nothing happened. Nothing the hell happened. After that, they kept on calling me and I keep on going to them even till today. I keep on going to them, but nothing happens. To be very honest, now that I am in such a phase that I just want to get out of it and I want to focus on my career. The best part is that I was suffering from depression for the last five years. After speaking out about this, I came out from anxiety attacks and depression. So, I don't know whatever the crap this our Indian system is. We talked aloud about women safety, women empowerment, women, women, women, women, etc. Whatever their loud talks actually didn't (happen). I don't care about that, but the whole thing is that I came out of my anxiety and depression attack only after I talked about it. So, I think in any way this is an achievement.
