Following her FIR against her former boyfriend Ness Wadia, managing director of the Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation and co-owner of the Kings XI Punjab team, accusing him of molestation during an Indian Premier League match held in Mumbai, Hindi film actress Preity Zinta has spoken her mind on her Facebook page. We reproduce her appeal, edited a little only for language.
From my heart….
I may not be super wealthy and powerful, but I have truth by my side. I’ve worked very hard all my life and tried to earn respect for myself as a self-made professional. It saddens me that no one at work or around ever stood up for me in the past when I was abused and insulted publicly. This time I was left with no option but to take this stern step as this incident happened in front of way too many people.
Sometimes we are so ashamed and humiliated that we fool ourselves to believe that no one saw what happened. Everyone always looks away as if they didn’t exist or we didn’t. People are embarrassed just enough to look away, but not too embarrassed to intervene.
The seriousness of the incident that happened at the Wankhede Stadium is being diluted by every other fabricated story about my character; nobody appears to care for the truth. I’m sure the witnesses will speak the truth. I also trust and believe that the police will do their job fairly and promptly.
No woman likes to be involved in a controversy like this, which makes her vulnerable; people find in it an opportunity to take a dig at her. I have worked for over 15 years in the film industry and have never been subjected to such humiliating treatment, and for that I really want to thank all the men that worked with me. Through all our highs and lows, my head was always held high.
Every human being has a limit to how much he or she can take; some of us foolishly call it strength and try to look ahead, focussing on the positives of work and life. All these years, I have never said anything about him (Ness) in the media but now I have no choice.
I humbly request the media and my supporters to focus on the issue and the incident that happened in Wankhede and not turn this and me into a TV soap. This is not easy for me, and my intention is not to harm anyone, but simply protect myself and stand up for myself. I don’t want any sympathy from anyone, but I will sincerely appreciate it if people do not try to take away my dignity in the process of my fight for respect at my workplace. I think after all these years I deserve it and I’m not asking for too much.
Thank you.
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