Filmmaker Farah Khan broke her silence about the sexual harassment allegations that have been levelled against her brother filmmaker Sajid Khan and said that she will, in no way, endorse sexual harassment, and pledged her solidarity with the women who have been ‘hurt’ by her brother’s behavior.
Khan’s show of solidarity could not have come at a better time. Ever since the #metoo storm swept the social media channels, the reactions — especially from the side of those accused — have been very similar. While some accused men followed up their apologies with a litany of lame excuses, others resorted to gaslighting. As for the friends and family members of the accused, they have chosen to be silent bystanders, and I assume are quietly waiting for the storm to pass.
However, unfortunately for them, the #metoo movement in India has only just begun. Thanks to Tanushree Dutta, Bollywood too, is very reluctantly warming up to the idea that the status quo of powerful men exploiting women, or harassing them in the name of the casting couch, can no longer continue and is trying to mend ways.
Actors like Aamir Khan, who had previously dismissed Tanushree Dutta’s charges of sexual harassment against Nana Patekar as a ‘he said, she said’ story, which ‘public should investigate’ into, has dropped the film Mogul after the director of the film, Subhash Kapoor, was accused of sexual assault. Akshay Kumar canceled the shoot of Housefull 4 after Sajid Khan, the director of the film (who has finally left the project) was accused of harassment, and Anurag Kashyap and the gang dissolved Phantom Films, after three years of being very well aware that his partner, Vicky Behl, allegedly tried to sexually harass a woman who worked at Phantom films.
Women journalists took it upon themselves to tell the stories of those who wished to stay anonymous, many victims reached out to other victims to help them deal with their pain, and mental health issues that have stemmed out of harassment. Female lawyers offered free services to women who wished to follow-up naming and shaming with legal cases, mental health professional offered their services at a reduced rate. For all our fears of missing out the #metoo movement that completes one year in the United States in 2018, our time to speak out against sexual harassment has finally arrived, and we have brought it at our doorsteps, or rather on our timeline, by lending support and showing solidarity to one another. Long live the sisterhood.