Saloni Chopra

Saloni Chopra is an Indian-born Australian actor and model, who works in Hindi films and television. In 2018, she joined the Me Too movement (India) after making allegations of sexual harassment against Sajid Khan.

Early life
Chopra was born in Mumbai Maharashtra India. She was raised by her grandparents in Australia. At the age of 18, returned to India. Her mother was a costume designer, and Chopra assisted her on film sets. She has done a course in Fashion Designing from National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT).

Career
Chopra's acting career began with the 2013 short film Maya, screened at the Cannes Festival. She made her television debut on the 2016 show MTV Girls on Top as Isha Jaisingh. According to MensXP, "her turn on the MTV show Girls on Top in 2016 earned her a fan base of young women passionately relating to her words." She also appeared in the Bollywood film Race 3 (2018) and in the television series Screwed Up (2018). Before becoming an actor, she worked as an assistant director for Krrish 3 and Kick (2014 film). She has also worked as a stylist for Randeep Hooda. As a model, she was featured in MensXP, on the November 2018 magazine cover and in a collection titled, "MeToo: Sona Mohapatra, Kubbra Sait & Saloni Chopra."

MeToo activism
On October 11, 2018, during the Me Too movement (India), Chopra publicly shared allegations of sexual harassment by director Sajid Khan  from when she had worked as his assistant on the film Housefull 2, and allegations against director and producer Vikas Bahl. She also alleged that Zain Khan Durrani had physically abused her when they were in a relationship. After Saloni's allegations, actor Rachel White also made allegations against Sajid Khan, which led to him stepping down from directing the film Housefull 4. In response, Chopra publicly thanked her supporters, including Akshay Kumar, who had asked the Housefull 4 producers to "cancel the shoot until further investigation," and she expressed regret for not speaking out sooner. On October 21, 2018, The Times of India reported that Chopra "has not only spoken about her horrifying experiences but is also inspiring many others to do the same," and that Chopra "feels it is about time we started talking about it and addressed the sexism that exists in the industry."

In a November 2018 Buzzfeed News profile of the #MeToo movement in Bollywood, Chopra shared her story, including about how she "tried to warn people in the industry about Khan, but she told BuzzFeed News she was told to take it in her stride." In December 2018, after the Indian Film and Television Directors Association (IFTDA) announced that it was suspending Sajid Khan for a year due to the multiple sexual harassment allegations, including from journalist Karishma Upadhyay, Chopra stated, "For now, I’m glad for the decisions IFTDA has made, change must begin somewhere."

In 2018, Bhawana Bisht of SheThePeople.TV described Chopra as one of the "significant pillars" of the #MeToo movement, because she "engaged in a powerfully honest and thought-provoking conversation about #MeToo and the cause they’re all fighting for." During a panel discussion, Chopra said she decided to publicly disclose her story because "It was time to practise what I preach. What is the point of speaking about women every day if I don’t do what I stand for." Bisht reported that another panelist, general secretary of the Cine and Television Artists Association (CINTAA) Sushant Singh, was "aback by the fact that there were next to zero abusive messages he received while, on another side, these women survivors were being trolled consistently."

Honors

 * 2019 Editor's Panel Feminist Voice of the Year: Saloni Chopra (Cosmo India)