Rana Dagubatti Replaces Nana In Housefull4 Post #Metoo Allegations
New Mumbai, Nov 1: Rana Daggubati has replaced actor Nana Patekar in Housefull 4 that the latter quit some weeks ago after being accused by actress Tanushree Dutta in a decade-old sexual harassment case.
As per reports in a leading English daily published from Mumbai, the Baahubali star was given a narration last week and he signed the film on Monday. “It is always good to find work outside of Hyderabad, get to learn so much and do so many new things. I’ve never been part of a genre like Housefull and it’s always exciting to work with different genres,” Rana Daggubati told the media, adding that he is looking forward to working with Akshay Kumar, the lead star of Housefull 4, again. Akshay and Rana were co-stars of 2015 spy thriller Baby.
Rana Daggubati is expected to join team Housefull 4, currently shooting in Mumbai, this week. The media report also states that he will apparently play a ghazal singer and the portions which Nana Patekar shot in Jaisalmer, will be now filmed in Mumbai.
In September, actress Tanushree Dutta reopened a 10-year-old sexual harassment case against Nana Patekar. She alleged the 67-year-old actor misbehaved with her when they were filming for a song sequence in 2008. Tanushree, who eventually dropped out of the film, also said that Nana Patekar sent political party goons to intimidate her.
Despite the allegations, the shooting of Housefull 4 went ahead uninterrupted in Jaisalmer. Nana Patekar continued to shoot for Housefull 4 for a few weeks before he eventually stepped out of the project citing ‘convenience’ of the production team.
Speaking to news agency ANI, the veteran actor’s son Malhar had said “Nana sahib thought of the convenience of everybody as he wishes the best for the producer and the crew and hence felt that stepping out of the project would be an appropriate thing to do at this point of time.”
Nana Patekar step down from the film came the same day as Akshay Kumar cancelled the shooting of the film over allegations against some team members. Sajid Khan, who was also accused of sexual harassment by three women in individual #MeToo accounts, stepped down from the director’ post pending investigation on the same day.
