#MeToo fallout: KWAN founder Anirban Blah asked to step down

KWAN Entertainment founder Anirban Das Blah, a popular Bollywood celebrity manager, has been asked to step aside from his position in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against him.

Multiple accounts, as reported by a daily, indicated that Blah had made sexual advances towards women.

"We have asked Anirban Blah to forthwith step aside from his duties, activities and responsibilities ar KWAN, its subsidiaries and affiliates with immediate effect," said a statement issued by the entertainment and marketing company.

"The past few days have been very disturbing to everyone in the light of the #MeToo movement and it has pushed us all to take a step back and introspect whether each of us is doing enough to create a healthy and safe environment," the statement added.

KWAN has promised to create a "safe and secure" working environment for its employees.

"We fully support the #MeToo movement and deprecate and condemn those who have exploited women in any form or manner. As a responsible corporate, we have taken assistance to ensure that we have efficient and appropriate processes to redress any complaint of misconduct in accordance with the law."

The company, which manages prominent names like Ranbir Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone, Sonam Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Pritam, Mahesh Babu, and Rana Dagubatti, has a Prevention of Sexual Harassment committee in place.

The #MeToo movement in India sparked with Tanushree Dutta renewing a 10-year-old allegation against Nana Patekar, opening the floodgates for a sea of complaints against several other celebrities.

Actors and corporates in the movie industry have stepped up efforts to take stern action against offenders.

--IANS

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