Actor-filmmaker Saloni Chopra has recently expressed her dismay over the casting of Zain Khan Durrani, whom she has previously accused of abuse, in Amazon Prime Video’s newly released film, Songs of Paradise. Saloni, who first named Zain as her alleged abuser back in 2018 during the MeToo movement in India, took to Instagram again in the wake of the film’s release on August 29, 2025 and highlighted what she described as disturbing industry hypocrisy.
In an Instagram carousel post, Saloni recounted harrowing episodes, writing how “he choked me while I sat helpless” and “dragged me out of the house.” She alleged that after going public, her only response was a “copy-pasted apology.”
“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,” Saloni wrote.
Saloni didn't shy away from calling out her co-stars and the broader filmmaking community either, saying, “And here's what's confusing: 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.”
“But the many women who speak up are penalised. 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,” she noted.
Titled “Why does Bollywood keep working with abusive men?”, her post featured a longer caption that decried the contradiction behind producing feminist narratives that still platform accused men. She wrote, “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.” She recalled that at the time she first wrote about Zain, “he was a nobody,” yet now finds himself centre stage. “We ignore toxic men when it doesn’t concern us but then we are angry and appalled when it reaches the doorsteps of our homes.”
Neither Amazon Prime Video nor the film’s producers have publicly responded to Saloni’s allegations or concerns so far.
The film itself has received praise for its storytelling and aesthetic merits. Directed by Danish Renzu and co-written with Sunayana Kachroo and Niranjan Iyengar, it is a musical drama celebrating the life of Raj Begum, Kashmir’s pioneering female playback singer who was honoured with the Padma Shri. Saba Azad and Soni Razdan portray Raj Begum (as a young and older Noor Begum, respectively), with Zain Khan Durrani playing a supporting role.
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