‘Jani master deserves fair trial, not rushed judgments’

Renowned choreographer Shaik Jani Basha, aka Jani Master, faced allegations of prolonged sexual harassment of a 21-year-old female colleague. Despite the incident occurring weeks ago, the industry has remained silent. Breaking the silence, fellow choreographer Anitha Lama, popularly known as Anee Master, has spoken out in support of Jani Master, the victim, who is also a female choreographer assistant.
“The allegations put on him have still not been proved yet. He was supposed to get a National award, which is a big honour. However, revoking his award, I really feel sad about it. A technician getting a national award is a very big thing; Jani Master is representing our Telugu film industry. Without proving anything, cancelling his national award and giving it to another person is erroneous,” said Anee.
She further went on to discuss his work and praised him for the same: “He entered the industry without having any background and today, he has reached immense heights, which is a result of his hard work. I worked with Jani master for two years. He was the one who gave me work after my marriage and having my baby. He is a very kind and a person with a helping nature. When I saw the news, I was in deep shock and couldn’t digest it. If he has really done it, then he should be punished. However, I know Jani master and he is a nice person.”
She further shared that she has travelled to many placed with him. “Not only in India but we had also travelled to Romania for Salman Khan Sir’s film. I worked with many choreographers, including Jani Master. He always behaves like a gentleman,” she said.
When asked why she responded very late when the issue happened nearly a month ago, she said that she was in deep shock. “I was in shock and no one knows what had really happened between them as it is something completely personal. More than that, it is a very sensitive issue and many others also did not respond because the victim is a female choreographer,” said Anee.
Anee Master has been in the industry for the last 20 years and she has not faced any difficulty from anyone.  She further shared, “Whenever a dancer is suffering with some medical problem or any other problem, Sekhar Master, Jani Master, or Ganesh Master respond immediately and take care of the dancer,” said Anee adding that he had also helped the victim  get a card in the union. “It is Jani Master and his wife Sumaltha who supported the victim and got a card for her. A few months ago, the victim spoke highly about Jani master in front of cameras and I even saw her with Jani Master. Seeing this news on TV, I couldn’t believe my eyes.”
Talking about the victim, Anee says that she sent a message to her when she worked for a dance show. “The victim did a dance show and gave a message to me at that time for work. I told her that you should approach dance masters like Sekhar, Jani, Ganesh and others to get work. I don’t know what is wrong and which one is correct, but what I want to tell you is that Jani master is a nice person. I am not here to support Jani master. I just want to say that I worked with him and he is a nice person. I didn’t face any difficulty while working with him,” said Anee.