Actor and filmmaker Saloni Chopra has criticised Amazon Prime Video's latest release, Songs of Paradise, for featuring her alleged abuser, Zain Khan Durrani, in a leading role. The film, which premiered on August 29, stars Zain alongside Saba Azad, Soni Razdan, and Sheeba Chaddha.
What's Happening
- Days after its release, Saloni shared a detailed note on Instagram, recalling the abuse she claims to have faced during her relationship with Zain in the early 2010s.
- "He choked me while I sat helpless. He dragged me out of the house," she wrote.
- She alleged that Zain not only physically harmed her but also manipulated and gaslighted her until she decided to speak out after discovering he was mistreating other women as well. Referring to the apology he later issued, she described it as nothing more than "copy-pasted words."
- Expressing anger over the industry continuing to support men accused of abuse, Saloni wrote: "And yet today, he's acting in an Amazon Prime film. Promoted. Praised. Polished into a man worth celebrating. So next time you wonder why women don't speak? This is why."
- She also called out colleagues in the industry, adding, "Self-proclaimed feminists, actors who build careers on equality speeches, artists who hashtag justice and solidarity, they're standing next to him. Working with him."
- In her caption, she further argued that Songs of Paradise loses credibility by casting men with abusive pasts, adding, "There's really no point in making feminist films like Songs of Paradise if we're going to keep working with men that are pushing the movement back by 50+ years."
- Highlighting what she described as selective outrage in Bollywood, Saloni wrote: "Women like myself, filmmakers trying to amplify women's voices through film, struggle to get our work seen. While men who beat women get prime-time slots."
Background
Saloni first spoke about her experiences with Zain during the #MeToo movement in 2018, alleging that the abuse continued until a final violent incident in front of her brother led her to leave.
Zain later issued a public apology, which she now dismisses as insincere.
Zain debuted in Onir's Kuchh Bheege Alfaaz (2018) and went on to appear in Shikara and Bell Bottom. His breakout came with the 2022 Zee5 series Mukhbir, where he starred alongside Prakash Raj, Adil Hussain, and Barkha Bisht.
His latest film, Songs of Paradise, is directed by Danish Renzu and produced by Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar, and Shafat Qazi.
