15 August,2021 08:15 AM IST | Mumbai | Aastha Atray Banan
Gehana Vasisth
My original plan was to be an engineer. But things changed after I arrived in Mumbai in June 2010. My family hails from Bhopal, but since my father worked in the coal mines of Chhattisgarh, I went to a school in the hill station of Chirimiri. My mother is a homemaker, and I have two brothers, and one sister. I was a topper in school, and Math and Biology were my strength. I had cracked the PET (Preliminary English Test), and was preparing for the IITJee exam, but when I realised that I needed R2 lakh to get admission to a college, I knew I had to find a way to make the money.
When I saw an advertisement in the newspaper about a Miss MP contest, I decided to participate. I had imagined they'd ask me to dance a little here and there, but I was expected to do the ramp walk and go through a question-answer round. I told the organisers that I wasn't fit for this. Back then, I was dowdy, wore mustard oil in my hair, sports shoes and baggy clothes. But they said, they would groom me. And just like that, I won Miss MP.
The fun part of the journey began when I was spotted crossing the road in Bhopal by an ad filmmaker. He asked if I wanted to pose for a Monte Carlo ad, and I told him that he should not make fun of a naive girl. But he was serious. For the first time, then, I walked into a beauty parlour and got myself waxed. I got Rs 500, but my pictures were in every Monte Carlo showroom across Bhopal. That amount was big for me; it got me through a whole month of coaching. Suddenly, people who had never paid attention to me because I was geeky - started inviting me to their parties. I also started getting some pocket money, and money matters, ya! Following this, I must have shot close to 50 ads for showrooms in the city. My face was everywhere. I even acted in an episode of Crime Patrol that came on ETV MP, and began work as an anchor for Sahara MP. I made Rs 1,500 a day.
Then, in 2010, I arrived in Mumbai to seek admission to Borivli's St Francis Institute of Technology. I wanted to train to be a teacher. One day, I happened to meet Masud Mirza, who was one of the writers of Madhur Bhandarkar's film Chandni Bar. Since he was from Bhilai, we got along. He was making a movie called Zara Sambhal Ke, and he asked me to audition for it. I was happy. It was as if I was getting everything without struggling for it. The movie was about the prostitutes of Nanded, and the role involved abusive language. In MP, using âtu' is also considered rude, so I turned his offer down. I decided to once again focus on my engineering plans, and had even got a placement at Tata Consultancy Services. Then I met producer Sajan Agarwal. I frequented the office of Rashmi Sharma Telefilms, the production house behind hit shows like Saath Nibhaana Saathiya. Rashmi di's husband Pawan, told me I should change my name. So, I consulted numerologist Sanjay Jumani, and landed the name Gehana Vasisth. I started my career with a show called Behenein on Star Plus.
This was a strange time for me - I had never worn jeans, and here I was in a bikini. I travelled to Hong Kong to participate in the Miss Bikini show, and gradually began to land films in the south. I have acted in over 30 Telugu and Tamil films. I even anchored a spot for the 2015 World Cup. I've also acted in shows for Amazon Prime, Zee 5, and Ullu. I owed my father R2.30 lakh as an education loan, and I only had Rs 1.08 lakh with me. I remember walking on Naigoan station, when my father called me and asked what I was up to in Mumbai. I asked him to give me some time, as I was sure they would not support the idea of my acting. They eventually found out when a neighbour saw me on TV, and he wanted me to return right away. But my acting gigs gradually got me noticed among acquaintances in Bhopal. I was a celebrity and people started coming to our home out of curiosity and respect. Then, he realised, I had become someone.
It was in 2019, that I first met Raj Kundra. His personal assistant who I called Meeta Di, called me for a meeting. I knew that Kundra's company Armsprime used to make apps for actors like Poonam Pandey and Sherlyn Chopra. I knew it was bold content exclusively for subscribers, so I told Meeta, I wasn't interested. They wanted to block me for just two days, and all I had to do was get my hair and make up artist along. They'd do the rest. The profit sharing plan was 50:50. She insisted I come and have a cup of coffee at the office, if nothing else. I landed up in Andheri, where I met Kundra for the first time. I asked him why he made content of this kind, and he was candid enough to say that no one was being forced to do it. It depends on the artiste and what they wish to do with their career. I left after the coffee. Later, I checked the app and realised that most of the content was made up of tease videos. There was no full nudity. So, I thought, why not.
The money was good. I got my brothers through engineering, and managed to make arrangements for my sister's wedding. I was not ambitious - I knew I wasn't going to be the next Aishwarya Rai. For me, getting married, having kids and quitting my job was not an option. Kundra's company was offering me R2 lakh for two days of work.
I signed the contract, and we went to Manisha Bungalow in Madh Island, to shoot a series of pictures and videos. There were backless shots, and I wore silicone cups throughout. There was some mild humping [expected of me], and smooching. I was happy with the fact there was now a Gehana Vasisth app. I carried on with this work till February 2020, when it dawned on me that I was on the wrong track. Why was I stripping! I let them know that I didn't wish to continue. Meanwhile, I got a call from a producer I knew from long ago called Sajan Agarwal, who wanted me to act in a movie for HotShots, which to my knowledge was run by Umesh Kamath. I turned him down since I knew that once again it was going to be about shooting bold content. But then, another director who was a friend, got in touch, and said, do it, it's all legitimate. I was offered Rs 25,000 per day. At the shoot, when the other actress removed her top. I froze. I had never seen a woman naked before.
I acted in three such movies, after which they asked me to also direct and produce. They would give me R3 lakh, and an approved script and actors, who Kamath would approve. I had to deliver the 30-minute film. After paying everyone, I realised I was left with only Rs 30,000, but I was happy about the fact that I was now a director-producer.
On February 4 this year, I was getting ready to leave for a launch party for one of my movies, when 14 Crime Branch officials showed up at my residence. They said I couldn't leave the house, and began looking through data on my phones and laptop. They destroyed my house; jewellery worth Rs 12 lakh is still missing. They didn't give me any information about what they wanted, but repeatedly said that while we had made crores, the actors had got a pittance. Three of the officials stayed at the residence through the night and the female cop kept suggesting I pay up if I wished to be free. They found copies of legal agreements concerning the films at my home.
I told them everything I knew; I had nothing to hide. I told them they can find the hard drives at the editor's home, and gave them names of everyone who would be present on the set. I was told that if I named Kundra, I would be named a victim and set free. But I said I didn't even work for Kundra, I worked for Kamath.
On February 6, they asked me to sign a piece of paper, which was written in Marathi. I didn't know what I was signing. They booked me under Section 420 among others. I was held in Byculla Jail. On February 17, they took me to Malvani police station, where they said a girl had accused me of gang rape. Someone who had acted in my movie, said that she had been raped by those on set while I had watched. When I confronted her, she admitted to me that it was not the truth. How could it be, when I had messages from her about having a wonderful time on set. I was in jail till June 19, and I even contracted COVID during my time there.
I was released on bail. But on July 19, they arrested Raj Kundra. They have now levelled fresh allegations against me. I have to say this, no one gets raped or forced in Bollywood. These are regular artistes who work for different producers.
I would like the cops to come clean and make public my phone messages. They will see that everyone who had made allegations against me, has chatted with me on text, and said wonderful things. I still stand by Kundra. This was not pornography, and it was never forced.
Actor and director Vandana Tiwari, alias Gehana Vasisth, was arrested by the Mumbai Crime Branch on February 6 this year after her role surfaced in an alleged pornography racket. She has been named in two FIRs registered at Malvani police station - in one FIR, she is named as accused in a gang rape.
The Crime Branch filed a chargesheet which names Vasisth and eight other accused, this April. According to it, the Crime Branch received a tip off on February 3 about porn films being shot in a Madh Island bungalow. Raids were conducted and on February 4, five people were arrested from the location - the woman who was acting in the alleged porn film said that she was forced into the business. The five arrested from location included Rowa Khan alias Yasmeen Khaan (producer and director), Monu Sharma (photographer), Bhanu Thakur (actor), Arish Shaikh (actor) and Pratibha Nalawade (creative director).
According to Crime Branch officials, during the interrogation of the accused, especially Khan, Vasisth's name surfaced. She was called for questioning and later arrested on February 6. During the searches, the officials found scripts and agreements pertaining allegedly to pornographic content creation. The charge sheet said that Vasisth used to upload obscene videos on escapenow.tv, and that she was in touch with a person named Umesh Kamath and had been sharing porn films files with him.
The officials learnt that Kamath was working for Kenrin Limited company in England, and sent porn films to the company, for uploading on their HotShot app which Raj Kundra's firm allegedly had a tie up with. The investigating team said it also found some agreements involving the firm with Vasisth. The Crime Branch arrested Kundra on July 19. On August 12, Abhijeet Bamble, a director in one of Kundra'a companies was arrested in connection with the pornography case.
"Gehana was directly in touch with Kamath. She was getting monetary benefits and she is the one who used to convince victims to shoot the obscene scenes. Later, they were forced to act in pornographic films, and were threatened," a senior officer of the Crime Branch said.
On June 19, the Dindoshi Court granted her bail after four months. In another FIR filed against Vashisth, she has been accused of coercing other actors to perform obscene scenes. The sessions court on August 12 rejected the anticipatory bail plea filed by her fearing arrest.
According to Crime Branch officials, most of the porn films in question depicted penetration, and were uploaded on an app called HOTHIT. The app was owned by Rowa Khan and her husband Dipankar Paritosh Khasanvis alias Shaan, who was also arrested. The officers say they have seized porn scripts from the set in the Madh Bungalow. Khan used to direct and produce the films which were uploaded on her app. Apart from HOTHIT, some videos were also given to Kamath who then shared it with the London-based company. These were also uploaded on the HotShots app.
"She has made crores. The victims have also said that they were forced to sign agreements to act in OTT films, but later, forced into shooting porn," an officer said.
Inputs by Faizan Khan
