Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan: When Actors Blatantly Refused to Talk on #MeToo Movement in Bollywood
Where as celebs like Kalki Koechlin, Ayushmann Khurrana, Kangana Ranaut, Ranveer Singh, Tisca Chopra are some of them who have spoken on it.
In a shocking turn of events, actress Tanushree Dutta accused actor Nana Patekar of sexual harassment while shooting a song for 2009 film 'Horn Ok Please'. She made allegations of him being intimate with her during the shot. She made the statements while speaking on the issue of #MeToo movement in Bollywood with a chat with a TV channel. She also blamed choreographer Ganesh Acharya for supporting him and blamed Akshay Kumar and Rajinikanth for working with him. However, Patekar refuted all the rumors and stated that he will take an action against her. Nana Patekar Reacts to Tanushree Dutta's Allegations of Sexual Harassment, Says He Will Take Legal Action Against Her (Watch Video)
During the recently held trailer launch of Thugs of Hindostan film, Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan were asked about the ongoing controversy. While Khan said that the case should be investigated, Big B avoided getting into the matter. When asked, he simply said, "My name is not Tanushree and my name is not Nana Patekar."
This is not the first time that the actors have avoided talking about sexual harassment and casting couch in Bollywood. A couple of months ago, during an event held by Sanju filmmakers, Ranbir Kapoor, Rajkummar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra broke into laughter when asked about the existence of casting couch in the industry. RK replied, "I have never faced it. If it's there, it's the worst kind." After this statement, the people present on the stage laughed leaving the fans perplexed as to what was so funny about the question.
Also, during an event of the film Veere Di Wedding, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sonam Kapoor and others blatantly refused to speak on the subject. They conveniently suggested the askers to shift their focus on the 'film' instead and that they will answer the questions asked on Twitter.
However, people were even more shocked when choreographer Saroj Khan defended casting couch in the industry. Speaking to ANI, she had said, "Yeh chala aa raha hai Baba azam ke zamaane se. Har ladki ke upar koi na koi haath saaf karne ki koshish karta hai. Govt ke log bhi karte hain. Tum film industry ke peeche kyun pade ho? Woh kam se kam roti toh deti hai. Rape karke chhod toh nahi deti. (This has been going on for ages. Everybody wants to try on a girl, even the government employees. Why are you after the film industry? At least they provide a livelihood. They don’t leave someone after raping them.)"
Well, the way of handling this sensitive subject by the Bollywood celebs is indeed alarming. While we see the entire Hollywood uniting bravely for the #MeToo movement, Bollywood is still far from fetching that dream it seems. It's high time that the celebs condemn this norm or at least express their disagreement with this norm that has grappled the industry. However, many celebs have been vocal about the existence. Kalki Koechlin, Ayushmann Khurrana, Kangana Ranaut, Ranveer Singh, Tisca Chopra are some of them who have spoken on it. More power to these guys!
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 27, 2018 06:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).