Several women say Bengali actor Riju Biswas filled DMs with ‘you look good in saree’; he calls it ‘breach of privacy’

While there has been a wave of such screenshots being shared on social media by women, Biswas has reportedly filed a complaint to the police, claiming “harassment” and “breach of privacy”.

In a video statement and in an interview, Biswas admitted to sending the messages. “I don’t like to lie. So, I won’t say my account was hacked. I sent those messages. But what’s the harm in complimenting someone? Saying to someone that you look good in a saree is a simple compliment. Also, I say this to my mother,” Biswas said.

Among those who have shared screenshots of similar messages from the actor on social media are models, bloggers, influencers, and common working women.

A nutritionist shared a 2019 screenshot of the same “saree” message from Biswas’ profile, sent at 4:09 am, implying a consistent pattern of early morning, late night, and odd hours messages.

Meanwhile, actor-model Alokananda Guha has accused Biswas of making advances to her when she was seeking work in the industry.

Guha said that when she was new to Facebook, she accepted a friend’s request from Biswas, who then messaged her about a work opportunity and shared an address. “When I arrived at the location with my mother and sister, he became uncomfortable and later messaged me on WhatsApp, saying I spoiled his mood by bringing my family. Later, in 2017, after I became successful, he messaged me again on Messenger with the phrase, “Hey, you look good in Sarees…”’

She said she did not reply then, but she felt compelled to speak out now “because some people are now publicly supporting him”.

The repetitive nature of the so-called “compliment” has led several women to question the actor’s intent.

Rajnaya Biswas, who also shared the screenshot of the saree message from Biswas, told The Indian Express that she discovered the message in her inbox only after the controversy broke.

“I had got the same message in 2022… I don’t know if he said offensive things to others, but he didn’t write anything other than that to me. I think this counts as a psychological disorder. I feel that he needs therapy. He seems frustrated,” she said.

Meanwhile, a woman identified as Jharna Bhowal, a content creator with 590k followers, defended Biswas, sharing a picture with him while draped in a saree. Bhowal said that a few months ago, she had attended a shoot with Biswas in Santiniketan, accompanied by her own and several other families. “Personally, I didn’t find Dada (Riju) to be a bad person at all,” said, adding that his request to wear sarees was because “the entire concept of the shoot was based on tradition and a cultural ambience”.

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