New Delhi: Popular Bollywood choreographer Shiamak Dawar has been accused of sexually harassing two men from North Vancouver, Percy Shroff and Jimmy Mistry.
These two students have filed lawsuits in Canada’s British Columbia Supreme Court claiming that Davar touched them in appropriately for several years and abused his authority as their spiritual leader.
Mistry and Shroff had joined Shiamak Davar’s Institute of the Performing Arts when they were in Mumbai.
Mistry joined when he was 17 and Shroff at 16. According to the lawsuit, Mistry claims that as a member of the core dancing group, he was asked to undergo ‘grooming process’ in where the choreographer allegedly manipulated him into “sexual submissionâ€.
He alleges that Davar would invite male dancers to his place and and ask them to lie in bed with him and stroke his body.
According to Jimmy, Davar made everyone (dancers) believe that his behaviour was normal and created an environment in which his physical interactions with young male dancers and students became the ‘norm’.
Jimmy who considered Shiamak to be his spiritual leader, believed the actions “must be correct and did not question the defendant’s actions or motives.â€
It further read that Shiamak not only made sexual advances but also made Jimmy shower with him.
The two students claim that Shiamak continued to govern their lives for a really long time. If they didn’t reciprocate the advances, Shiamak would humiliate them in public.
Shiamak however denied any such charges and said that he ‘has never had inappropriate sexual relations’ with the two students.
In a written response to the lawsuits, Shiamak claims the allegations are not true and that the two former dancers are trying to ruin his character, reputation and affiliated organizations.