There have been so many #MeToo stories coming out every day these last few days, ever since Tanushree Dutta spoke up about the people who sexually harassed her. While we all know it’s mostly the women who face harassment at their workplace and otherwise, it doesn’t mean that men don’t at all! Men too face harassment sometimes at the hands of their seniors at work, and sometimes maybe even at home where women play the victim and the world believes everything they say because whether we like it or not, women are considered the weaker sex! (Again thanks to the way men are taught and brought up in our society).
Harassment can be either mental, physical, sexual or verbal and NONE of it is acceptable by any means. Nobody has the right to harass anyone and there is no excuse for it. Bullying is another form of harassment and that’s exactly what actor Saif Ali Khan was subjected to almost 25 years ago! Yes, even the Nawab of Pataudi had a #MeToo incident when he wanted to get into acting and was signed for his very first film which was supposed to be Bekhudi. Unfortunately, the director Rahul Rawail replaced Saif after the first schedule of the film and cast actor Kamal Sadanah in the film opposite Kajol instead.
Here’s a rare video of the Mahurat shot of Bekhudi with Saif and Kajol
Speaking to HotFridayTalks at an interview recently, Saif shared how that incident still makes his blood boil. When we brought up the topic, one could actually see the anger on Saif’s face. He said,”I was terribly bullied but if I speak now it will sound petty but since you guys asked, let me tell you; yes I was but I am ok, I am over it but a part of me is still not over it. I hate bullying and I hate people like that guy (Rahul Rawail).I do hate it and now that you have brought it up, you should write about it and he should be shamed. He’s a terrible person and he’s a torturer of people.It was 25 years ago and I am still not over it.”
Image Credit: Movie – Bekhudi
Also speaking about all the #MeToo stories about sexual harassment coming out in the open, Saif who has worked in films, with some of the accused said, “First of all I don’t even want to call them my colleagues because I don’t think of these guys as colleagues so far. I would be very shocked and surprised if a friend of mine was named. I think it is disgusting and I’ve never liked any kind of bullying and I know this is some that people do and they cannot do it! The only way to change it or stop is to change their mindset and attitude. One of the good things about social media is that they will shame people for doing such things and teaching them to behave, they will think ten times before disrespecting anybody again. So social media should be used not just to upload pictures of your cat but to make a change!”
Saif said that his production house believes in the safety of the women who work there and it is everyone’s duty to do so, He said that behaviour is not something that can be taught. “You have to know how to behave with women and people, it cannot be taught. You’ve got a wife and kids and you’re saying come to my bungalow later, you can’t be doing that. There has to be somewhere you can complain to. If somebody came to me and said that this is what’s happening in my company, we would address that right? I would not associate myself with such people.Those people who have sexually harassed and abused women should pay for it,” added Saif.
