Arshima Thapar opens up on assault

A minor argument over the call time snowballed into a raging fight and led to production assistant Atul Chavan assaulting actress Arshima Thapar on the sets of Bhaage Re Mann. According to sources, while the junior most member of the production team, Chavan, was battering the young actress, the senior crew members production head Ranbir Singh and supervising producer Akarsh Sharma who were also involved in the fight, merely stood as mute spectators and did nothing to stop Chavan. The actress got a deep scratch on her right arm, which was badly swollen. The incident took place on the sets of the show on Monday but Arshima braved the pain and continued to shoot.

Breaking her silence for the first time on the assault, the actress says, “I wasn’t keeping well that day. At the time of pack-up, I was told to come at 8.30 am the next day. Since I had packed up late I insisted I would come by 9.30 am. It was a small thing and they blew it out of proportion. Soon they started hurling abuses at me. And later Chavan, who had no business to get involved in the issue, assaulted me while the senior crewmembers looked on. They know I am epileptic. I have had a seizure before on the set and even then he assaulted me. Their behaviour has left me shocked”.

The actress continues, “My co-stars were quite shaken. They went out of their way to make me comfortable. Even though the producer of the show gave me an option to resume shoot whenever I felt convenient, I reported on the sets the very next day of the incident. My director had to be patient with me as I was a little hassled. Normally, in such cases producers don’t stand by the actors but my producer came with me to CINTAA and even the Malvani police station to file an NC against the culprits. The police officers were very cooperative. They assured me they would do the needful.”

According to the actress, CINTAA has already initiated action against the trio involved in the assault. Their CINTAA identity cards have been seized and they have been banned by the association. The producer too has suspended Chavan, Akarsh and Ranbir. “A lot of people think I am doing this for publicity. I really don’t care what they think. I had the option of keeping quiet but I chose to stand up for my self respect and dignity.”