Actress Pankhuri Awasthy Reveals She Slapped A Man Who Touched Her Inappropriately

New Delhi: Television actress Pankhuri Awasthy said that she "slapped" a man after he touched her inappropriately, reported news agency IANS. Pakhuri, dressed in a skirt and top, was hanging out with her friends in Bangalore, when the incident happened. "Earlier, I didn't have courage to stand up against it. Now I do stand up. Recently, I was in Bengaluru with my friends and I was wearing a skirt. There was this guy who came and he had the courage to touch my thighs. I slapped him then and there itself," said Pankhuri told IANS on the sets of her new TV show Kya Kasoor Hai Amla Ka?, in which she plays the role of a rape survivor.

Pankhuri also said that she has zero-tolerance for sexual harassment. "I stop there and say out a few bad words when somebody tries to tease me. I can't keep quiet now. I am proud of myself for doing that," she told IANS.

Pankhuri also added that she's faced several instances of harassment during her college days in the National Capital. "When I was in Delhi, I used to travel to college by Metro and so many instances have happened with me. That time (in college), you're so young and you don't realise half of the things that are happening to you. Cities are not safe for girls. If you think you can go out at night, you can't do so without being scared," she told IANS.

Pankhuri will soon be seen in Kya Kasoor Hai Amla Ka?, which is the Hindi adaptation of Turkish TV show Fatmagul and deals with the subject of rape and sexual harassment. Talking about her character in Kya Kasoor Hai Amla Ka?, Pankhuri said: "For the preparation of my role, I met a psychologist and a practising psychiatrist to understand what goes on in the minds of these girls who have been raped. They told us that what's the uncommon thing here is that most of these girls are married to the guy who raped them."

Pankhuri Awasthy is best known for playing the protagonist in historical drama Razia Sultan.

(With IANS inputs)