#MeToo: Sagarika Shona Suman alleges a music baron asked her to “compromise” for music video

MUMBAI: In another startling expose, aspiring actress and model Sagarika Shona Suman today alleged that a ‘controversial music baron who is always in the news for the wrong reasons’, demanded “compromise” in order to cast her in a music video with a very popular male singer.

Shona Suman shot into the limelight earlier in February this year, when she claimed that NRI businessman Raj Kundra, who is Bollywood actress’ Shilpa Shetty’s husband was allegedly involved in a porn racket and that his company executive Umesh Kundra demanded a nude audition on the WhatsApp video calling service.

Raj Kundra’s team had totally denied these allegations in February, even threatening to sue journalists who wrote about it.

However, upon his arrest in the Mumbai porn racket, wherein the Mumbai police commissioner termed Kundra the “main conspirator”, Sagarika’s allegations, which six months ago, were showed under the carpet and ignored by the mainline media in India, gained credibility.

Speaking to media persons in Mumbai today, Sagarika alleged that she has faced the casting couch syndrome hundreds of times in the last few years. She alleged that a flamboyant male music baron attempted to molest her when she had gone to meet him at a 5 star hotel in suburban Mumbai, in connection with a music video.

“When I aggressively resisted his attempts to disrobe me and showed him away, he openly demanded that I would have to sleep with him several times to get the role in the music video. He also attempted to shove his hand into my blouse, but I almost screamed, which made him back off, but not before attempting to grab my butt,” Sagarika alleged in an explosive interview with a popular National news channel.

She added that this music baron meets female models, artists and singers in hotels in Juhu, while others are asked to visit the company office.

She further alleged that because she refused to sleep with the music honcho, his company executives blocked her further attempts to get work from that particular company and she lost out on several projects, including a prominent role in a Bollywood film, which he was associated with, even though she had successfully auditioned for it and the film director was happy with her work.

“You cannot get meaty roles in any assignment connected with this music label, unless you sleep with this music baron or financially invest in the project, she stated.

Asked to name the music baron and the company, Sagarika Shona Suman quipped “haven’t you heard about him yet, he is always in the news for similar reasons” and said she would name him soon after she gets a go ahead from her lawyers.