A Delhi-based aspiring actor, a rape survivor, has spoken out for the first time about the ordeal she faced, exposing the rot, running deep, in the industry.
The survivor recounted the horror for the first time on television and exposed top Bollywood producer and a close friend of Shah Rukh Khan, Karim Morani. Morani, who is known for backing films like Chennai Express and Ra.One is facing rape change and is currently out on bail.
The survivor who shifted to Mumbai in 2014 knew Karim Morani’s family and recalled that in 2015 called her up and said that he would come over for tea. The survivor said that during a function at the Morani household, she got in touch with Karim Morani.
She then recounted that despite being aware that the survivor was a teetotaler, Morani forced her to drink and violated her afterwards.
The woman accusing Morani, in her Me Too story, shared that once she called confronted him, the Chennai Express producer only laughed. The woman felt trapped and terrified when Morani began to stalk her, but felt she was powerless to stop him. If she told anyone, the producer warned her, he would come after her.
“Morani told me he clicked my pictures. He said if you try and call anyone, I’ll get you killed by the underworld. Morani was linked to the underworld. He called me again in October 2015. He wanted me to go to Ramoji City. He would blackmail me saying he’d get me eliminated by the underworld. I don’t doubt that he’s influential. I’ve seen it that he’s influential and I know he could have eliminated me,” said the woman, alleging Morani continued to sexually abuse her, using her pictures as a ploy.
The victim also alleged that Morani would brag in front of her about the crimes he had committed and how he got away with them.
To threaten her further, Karim Morani, started sending her “the nude pictures he clicked of me”.
The horror-story didn’t end there as the survivor recalled that Morani allegedly harassed her several times afterwards using her pictures as a ploy.
“The after effects were that I stopped talking to people, stopped working, became a recluse. It wasn't just one time. He came over a couple of times more. It was 12th Sept 2015 and he calls me and says I want you to come here. I was scared he'd circulate my nude pictures to family. He sneaked me into the room. He didn't even let me leave,” said the survivor.
She also recalled that Karim Morani was so unabashed that he would tell her that “SRK, Varun Dhawan were in the next rooms”, but won’t let her leave.
The woman weathered excruciating threats and filed a complaint in Hyderabad’s Rachakonda in January 2017. The police had registered a case against Morani for rape, wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation, cohabitation caused by a man deceitfully inducing a belief of lawful marriage, and cheating. Morani is out on bail.
