Wasn't forced into sex trade, didn't say many actresses are in it: Shweta Basu Prasad

Actress Shweta Basu Prasad spoke to the media after being released from the rescue home on 31 October and told them that she had never issued any statement after her arrest and it is a journalist who had concocted those “utter lies” during her “hour of crisis”. India Today quoted Shweta Basu Prasad saying, " I’ve no complaints against anyone except the journalist who during my hour of crisis made up a statement attributed to me." “That statement was circulated everywhere. I had no idea about it as I had no access to newspapers or websites for two months.” she added. [caption id=“attachment_1786579” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Shweta Basu Prasad. Image courtesy: Facebook page.[/caption] The actress was arrested in September by the Hyderabad police on charges of prostitution. Reportedly, she was “caught in a compromising position” when the cops raided a famous hotel at the upscale Banjara Hills in the city. Following the arrest she was kept at a rescue home from where she was released on 31 October after a sessions court in Nampllay ordered to release her and allowed her to stay with her family. Speaking to NDTV, the actress said that the police had asked for names of other actresses involved in prostitution rackets. However, Prasad didn’t give out any names. NDTV quotes Prasad as saying, “I didn’t even know many of their names. Why should I make comments on other actresses? Shame on the people who said I was forced to do certain things by my family to afford a lifestyle.” In an interview to DNA, she even said that she and her family is trying to track the journalist who floated the quote down and they plan to sue him/her. She told NDTV that she was hardly depressed and had spend the two months in the rehabilitation home with victims of trafficking ‘productively’. She said that she volunteered as a teacher for Hindi, English and Hindustani classical music. The actor told DNA, “But I am completely unaffected by the entire episode. I now see how futile and unnecessary it was. I am glad to be alive and kicking and raring to go. Life looks beautiful and hopeful.” She also denied that she flew to Hyderabad as a part of the sex racket. “I hadn’t been called to Hyderabad by any agent for commercial sex. I had gone to there to attend an awards ceremony,” she told the media. However, she didn’t deny her involvement in the sex incident though she insisted that the media got the details wrong. The actress had reportedly issued a statement after that, which she now denies making. In the alleged statement, the actress was quoted saying “I have made wrong choices in my career, and I was out of money. I had to support my family and some other good causes. All the doors were closed, and some people encouraged me to get into prostitution to earn money. I was helpless, and with no option left to choose, I got involved in this act. I’m not the only one who faced this problem, and there are several other heroines who have gone through this phase.” Basu rose to fame as a child star with her film Makdee that won her a National Award, she also played the role of Sreyas Talpade’s sister in the film Iqbal. She later went on to act in several television shows including Ekta Kapoor’s Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki and Karishma Kaa Karishma. She is currently working in the Telugu film industry. India Today had earlier reported that “The police said they have also arrested several well-known businessmen along with the actor. The actor underwent a medical test before being lodged in a rescue home run by the Woman and Child Welfare department. She is likely to stay there for three months.” However, while Basu’s name was made public by the police sources, her high profile clients’ names has been kept a secret.