#MeToo: Prathap Suthan strongly refutes allegations

Prathap Suthan, managing partner and CCO at Bang in the Middle has responded to the #MeToo allegations against him. Campaign India had reached out to Prathap Suthan for his response after a lady had written a blog that named him on medium.com. This blog was written in response to a previous blog where a senior advertising executive had dropped a broad hint that she had been harrassed by a gentleman named PS during her stint at an agency with "Grey shades of creativity".

 

We reproduce the letter sent by Suthan in its entirety. Campaign India would like to point out that this is entirely his view. 

 

It is with great anguish and sadness in my heart that I have read the articles by two women, who are totally unknown to me but who appear to be my business rivals who are trying to defame me by casting aspersions on my character thereby trying to harm my hard earned reputation of 31 years.   From the articles, it appears that Ms. Jaya Prasad is heading a rival advertising agency called Serviceplan India while Ms. Anaiysha Chhabra Parashar is running her own ad agency called `Keep tripping Pvt. Ltd’.   I am the Co-Founder of an advertising agency called `Bang in the Middle’, which was started in the year 2012, and is a fast-growing agency which has perhaps led to this campaign of maligning us publicly and to bring disrepute to our name in an apparent attempt to stop our clients from continuing their business relations with us.   It is also to be noted that Bang in the Middle was not in existence in the year 1999, the year in which the said Ms. Jaya Prasad is supposed to have come for an interview. Yet Ms. Jaya Prasad has randomly and liberally used `Bang in the Middle’ at different places while describing an alleged incident stated falsely by her to have occurred in the year 1999, a fact which is completely denied by me.   This clearly shows that the entire exercise has been made by her to malign my agency and bring disrepute to it. It is also a fact that `Bang in the Middle’ is a rapidly growing advertising agency with a number of excellent businesses which naturally has led to jealousy and a craving to bring it down so that agencies like the ones being managed or owned by the two women in question may perhaps unethically gain from the downfall of our agency. This act by these two women is evidently motivated and actuated by business rivalry.   In the year 1999, I was working as the creative head of an advertising agency called Trikaya Grey. Our Department was situated on the Second Floor of a four-storeyed building housing the offices of M/s Trikaya Grey (Now called Grey). There was only one cabin in the entire four-storeyed building and that solitary cabin was situated on the floor below ours and was for the Office Manager.   On the Second Floor where the creative team, including myself, were located there were no cabins but only workstations, which were made in a big open hall. At any given time there were at least 20 or more people working in close proximity with each other. There was no place which was isolated or having a couch on which one could “fall” and/or where one could “land on” anyone.   My workstation comprised only one desk and one chair and on the other side and adjoining my table were another three people’s tables and workstations. The workstations were so closely and openly placed that everyone could easily see the workstations/tables of the other persons, standing or otherwise.    In this scenario, I cannot imagine how anyone could have carried on or indulged in any acts of the type that Ms. Prasad is writing about. Fortunately, I have been able to locate a video of the office of M/s Trikaya Grey where the creative team including me were working at that time which clearly shows the above position regarding the work stations. Anyone interested in taking a look at the said video is most welcome to do so.   This by itself also goes on to prove that Ms. Prasad has never been to my office and the entire story is a sham.   Obviously, the entire story is totally imaginary and concocted to harm the reputation of our agency.   I confirm that I have never met Ms. Jaya Prasad or conducted her interview at any time. I do not know her at all and the first time I have heard of her is through this completely false and vexatious article written by her.   When I start analyzing the false story concocted by Ms. Prasad on 15.10.2018, immediately the following glaring discrepancies/anomalies come to the fore which also clearly show that Ms. Prasad has never come to my office or been interviewed by me: 1st para on pg.1   1. It is alleged that she had cleared the copy/creative test when there were no copy/creative tests in the year 1999; There was no system of copy/creative tests at all in Grey – and it was only in 2006 that we introduced such a test.   2. Ms Prasad claims that she “followed him in his cabin” when I had no cabin at all. In fact, there was no cabin on the entire floor;   3. It is claimed that the conversation jumped to condom advertising when till date I have never done any advertising for condoms, and that detail has been deliberately added for additional unsavouriness.   Last para on pg.1 I am supposed to have cribbed about youngsters coming for internships and can’t write whereas she has herself alleged that she came for an interview for a job and not an internship.   1st para on pg.2 I asked Ms. Prasad to come over to see a ‘sketch’ drawn by me, whereas I am a copywriter and don’t and can’t sketch.   2nd para on pg.2 “PS has landed on me” whereas there was no place or object on the entire floor on which I could have landed on anyone.   3rd para on pg.2 “I leave slamming the door.” There is no cabin and as such there can be no door of any presumed cabin. So it’s not understood what and which door has she slammed.   7th and the last para on pg.2 & 3 Deliberately the name of our agency ‘Bang in the Middle’ has been used in a derogatory manner so as to show us down and malign us.    It appears that after reading my response in Best Media Info where I had denied knowing the lady concerned as also the occurrence of any such incident as alleged and/or even having a cabin at that time, this lady got another article published under the name of her friend, who is stated to own another advertising agency by the name of `Keep Tripping Pvt. Ltd.’ In this article an improvement was made in the earlier version of Ms. Prasad by calling my workstation a cubicle. Once again I re-iterate that I don’t know either of the two ladies and that I have never worked with either of them.   To the best of my knowledge and memory, no person by the name of Ms. Anaiysha Chhabra Parashar, ever worked or interned with the Creative Department of Trikaya Grey/or Grey Worldwide across the 11 years that I worked with them in the New Delhi office.   Again, Trikaya Grey was not involved with the pitch for the launch of Opel Corsa at all.   I may also point out here that while Ms. Anaiysha, at one place, is alleging that she interned under me, at yet another place she is alleging that I made her quit her first ever JOB. She ought to make up her mind whether she was interning at Trikaya Grey or doing a job there.   And just to set the records straight I am a happily married man and have been married for a good 26 years. My wife is most upset at my name being maligned in this manner as also with the completely false allegations being made about her having contacted one Ms. Anaiysha.   Please also convey to Ms. Anaiysha that she need not worry about anyone dealing or working with me. I also would like to put on record the fact that I have 45 happy people working in “Bang in the Middle” and out of them, 16 are ladies who are all prepared to give statements relating to my relations and good behaviour with them.    In fact, one lady, Ms. Sarvagya Dhunta Kohli who has been working with me since the year 2007 is most distressed at the vexatious false stories concocted against me by these two ladies out of jealousy and spite. Even after her marriage, Ms. Kohli continues to work in Bang in the Middle at our Mumbai office as her husband is located there. Ms. Kohli is prepared to give any statement or sign any affidavit if desired to prove my relations with the ladies working with me.   It is also pertinent to state here that after reading these obnoxious articles I was approached by a junior lady colleague, who had the misfortune of earlier working with Ms. Jaya Prasad. In a meeting held in the conference room of our office, in the presence of the entire office, this lady spoke openly about Ms. Jaya Prasad and her experience of working with her. We were informed that Ms. Jaya Prasad had asked her to wear shorter skirts and low neck blouses showing cleavage to attract clients.   This lady is prepared to go to any forum and to swear any affidavit to reveal the truth about Ms. Jaya Prasad and about my behaviour with my lady colleagues. In my denial to Best Media Info I have stated and I repeat here that everyone, whosoever so desires, is most welcome to come to my office and ask my people who work for me about my behaviour with them.   Lastly, let me make it clear that I have the utmost respect for all women and I have never disrespected any single woman in my life. I also would like to say that I am totally in favour of the Metoo movement and would not like people like Ms. Jaya Prasad and Ms. Anaiysha to dilute the same by misusing the power of the movement for oblique purposes.   Further I also believe that these two people, by their action, are in fact, doing a great disservice to all women as, by making such false complaints/reports, they will create an unwanted and unprofessional distance and divide between men and women, and the same will inadvertently lead to many businesses, clients, and offices not wanting to recruit, meet, consider, and hire female employees for fear of possible future repercussions and similar false actions.

Also read:

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