Every year, thousands of young people with dreams in their eyes step out at CST station to become a star in the Hindi film industry. And many of them may be falling victims to a nightmare.
Hollywood had its #MeToo when Lucia Evans an aspiring actor who alleged Harvey Weinstein abused her in 2004. More than 75 actors came forward in her support. And it turned into one of the biggest social media campaigns. In fact, this is soon turning into a #MeToo era.
And it seems to be standing at the brink of a breakout, closer home, in the Hindi film industry. Tanushree Dutta has come out to admit that she faced abuse at the hands of veteran actor Nana Patekar on the sets of ‘Horn OK Pleasss’ in 2008. And while she was earlier tossed aside as small fry, now other actors have come out in her support.
For men, a big part of the #MeToo movement is listening to women tell their story. Supporting them with belief. #TanushreeDutta is telling hers. Be a good man, shut your mouth, and listen to it. There are many many more like it in our industry. And they deserve to be heard.
— Vir Das (@thevirdas) September 28, 2018
Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar, and Hansal Mehta, among many others, have come out to support her. But will the whirlwind of controversy turn into a real deal breaker, that will begin the dawn of gender parity in the industry, depends on the social support system that it garners.
The crux of #MeToo is that men support it as much as women. It is not the battle of one gender against the other, it is many faceted fronts between both genders and the entrenched patriarchal system. And the right can win only when there is unity.
In America, the #MeToo movement began with a few allegations, others came out in support. Even the common men and women opened up about their stories. Men admitted that even they have been victims of bullies. And only then, it took a vast turn to lead up to the Time’s Up campaign.
This is the moment that resounds with a thunderous clap, and where the drum roll will stop depends on which sides the cards fall when it comes to supporting Dutta, or turning a blind eye to the allegations on a veteran actor.
