On Friday, Independent musician Pragya Pallavi called out Kher for harassing her when she was just a teenager back in 2004. She alleged that Kher would call her and ask her to come over his place with her college friends. The harassment grew to such extent that Pallavi had to change her cell phone number ‘to escape from him’.
On October 10, singer Sona Mahapatra had called out Kher for his obnoxious behaviour publicly. During India’s #MeToo campaign, Mahapatra took to twitter and narrated her experience.
“I met Kailash for coffee in Prithvi Café to discuss a forthcoming concert where both our bands were playing & after the usual, a hand on my thigh with lines likes, your so beautiful, feel so good that a ‘musician got you’ (Ram) not an actor. I left not soon after,” she tweeted.
(1) I met Kailash for coffee in Prithvi Café to discuss a forthcoming concert where both our bands were playing & after the usual, a hand on my thigh with lines likes, your so beautiful, feel so good that a ‘musician got you’ (Ram) not an actor. I left not soon after. (1) https://t.co/Cfz8Hf4sdP
— SONA (@sonamohapatra) October 9, 2018
Kher continued to misbehave with her as they landed in Dhaka for the tour.
(2) That did not deter Kailash Kher though. On landing in Dhaka & on my way to the venue with the organisers, keeps calling me & when I don’t pick up, calls the organisers phone to get through to me & asks me to ‘skip’ the soundcheck & join him in his room instead to ‘catch up’ https://t.co/beBehXBLup
— SONA (@sonamohapatra) October 9, 2018
3)The fact that Kailash had sung in my studios & for many projects in which I was the producer & knew me to be as strong as i am or that he had only recently taken a favour from my partner @RamSampathLive to create a personal track for him didn’t stop him. #TheHubris of such #men https://t.co/GLHvCsIPDR
— SONA (@sonamohapatra) October 9, 2018
On October 6, photographer Natasha Hemrajani had accused Kher of sexually harassing her and a friend in 2006 when they had gone to his Mumbai home for work.
“During the interview, this creep sat between us as close to us as he could. He also kept putting his hands on our thighs (on the skin above our skirts),” she narrated her experience in a series of tweets.
(1)
My #MeToo has singer Kailesh Kher & model Zulfi Syed, from when I was a newly appointed young woman photographer at Hindustan Times in Bombay, 2006.
Tweeting this thread for all to draw strength & speak out
❤️@photowallah@shubhangisapien@TheRestlessQuil@AnooBhu
@weeny— Natasha Hemrajani (@radiantbear) October 6, 2018
On 8 October, a Twitter user, who said she used to be Kher’s fan, outed him for his predatory behaviour when she met him during her college days.
(1) Here I write my #MeToo story- and I name Kailash Kher. Guess what his profile bio says- Adiyal bairagi hu, ziddi anuragi hu. How poetic right? I will show you what it means- “I am a stubborn recluse, a stubborn lover” I wish I knew what this meant much earlier! pic.twitter.com/6ItkX2bPCi
— Simran Soni (@chicksim) October 8, 2018
“He is a predator. He write things poetically. Things like – “tum meri pagli ho. Drown in my love. Tum meri jogi ho. Mirror me dekho mai dikhunga tumhe. Touching every part of your soul.” It was here when I realised what he is,” she wrote.
She alleged that Kher had asked her to see him multiple times at shows or at private gatherings in hotels but she always refused. She finally had to block him.
On October 15, singer Varsha Dhanoa also came forward with sexual harassment allegations against Kher.
Dhanoa told news agency ANI, “I used to idolise Kailash Kher. I met him for the first time at Dubai airport in 2015. We clicked some pictures, exchanged numbers & started texting. One day, he called me & asked me to meet. He said he likes my name & wants to make love to me.”