New Delhi: Bollywood is hit by #MeToo movement and several prominent personalities have come under the scanner. Big names such as Subhash Ghai, Vikas Bahl, Alok Nath, Nana Patekar among others have been named as alleged sexual predators by many female co-workers.
The firebrand actress Kangana Ranaut has always been vocal about setting her record straight and never really minced her words. The actress in a recent media interaction talked about the silence maintained on #MeToo movement by some B-Town biggies such as Karan Johar and Shabana Azmi.
Bollywoodlife.com, quoted Kangana as saying, “I have been speaking about it every day. But, now, more significantly, more people need to come out and talk about it. It's just not one person to talk about it. It's important for people like... Where are people like Karan Johar, Shabana Azmi, they should also come out and talk. Karan Johar always has views about gym looks, airport looks, he tweets ten times about it, what about this? This is their identity, this is their bread and butter, Film Industry when it's going through such an important shift, where are they? It's important that other people also now join this movement.”
“When the Industry is going through such a shift why are these A-list actresses not sharing their stories? I am the only one, you guys come every day. I don't know who calls you but honestly, I have spoken a lot, it's not for one person to talk”, she added.
Talking about Koffee With Karan season 6's latest promo, she quipped, “I was seeing the promo that they have launched of his talk show, wherein again those frivolous talks have been going on. This one is sleeping with this one, that one is sleeping with. You know making girls look like Barbie dolls. This is not done and why men who change women like clothes are glorified. Has there been a woman who has been glorified like that? Honestly, it's funny, since I have started, I was seventeen, it's just been about gossiping about some select people sleeping with each other. It can't be just that, we need to grow up and it's high time that we do.”
She even talked about having better role models. "This has to be made clear, we need to promote men who are, I don't know what they do in their real lives, we are not here to judge them but at least who project to be one woman man. like somebody who pretends to be a Casanova, we don't have to glorify that, we don't have to glorify a culture where you date a woman for ten years and then just abandon her and change women like clothes, we don't have to glorify that. I am not judging them, they are all my friends, they are lovely. But, this is the time when it can't be just like... c'mon Karan Johar”, added Kangana.
When asked whether she will work with people named as offenders, she clarified, “I have taken a strong stand. When I was seventeen I had lodged an FIR. Some people need to be supported by society but I don't want to discourage the lone fighters like me. There are some who will slap the offender right then and there and kick their ass, so there are women like that also who might not have to wait for years and years. There are women who need to be empowered and there are women who are very strong. But, my point is, where is Shabana Azmiji, why isn't she sharing her #MeToo experience.”
The #MeToo campaign kickstarted in Bollywood after actress Tanushree Dutta alleged that senior actor Nana Patekar harassed her while they were shooting a song for 'Horn Ok Pleassss' in 2008. The latter, however, has denied any such incident.
