New Delhi: Top celebrity manager Anirban Das Blah has been asked to step down from his position at KWAN Entertainment after he was accused of multiple sexual harassment cases.
Issuing a statement on Tuesday, KWAN Entertainment said, “ We have asked Anirban Blah to forthwith step aside from his duties, activities and responsibilities at KWAN, its subsidiaries and affiliates with immediate effect.”
The company manages prominent names like Ranbir Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone, Sonam Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Pritam, Mahesh Babu, and Rana Dagubatti, among others.
The development follows allegations of sexual assault by a number of women against the Bollywood celebrity manager, who also hails from Shillong. The entertainment company further said in its statement, “ “The past few days have been very disturbing to everyone in the light of the #MeToo movement and it has pushed us all to take a step back and introspect whether each of us is doing enough to create a healthy and safe environment.”
Just after the company’s statement, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has also refused to work with Blah and has openly come out in support of the #MeToo movement. Despite KWAN’s impressive roster with illustrious names like Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor, Salman has decided to keep a distance from Blah.
“We fully support the #MeToo movement and deprecate and condemn those who have exploited women in any form or manner. As a responsible corporate, we have taken assistance to ensure that we have efficient and appropriate processes to redress any complaint of misconduct in accordance with the law,” said the statement.
In the meantime, Live Love Laugh Foundation, founded by Dipika Padukone, also issued a statement and said Blah had tendered his resignation from the position of trustee of the foundation.
The #MeToo movement took the country by storm after Tanushree Dutta came out open against Nana Patekar in a 2008 sexualy harassment case, following which journalists, civil society organisation workers have also narrated their ordeals and harassment cases.
