A Bollywood Actor Chitrangada Singh is positive that the #MeToo action is here to stay for long and express change can happen only through fear and for now, it’s working.
The Hindi film industry has been rocked with several sexual harassment allegations against people like Vikas Bahl, Alok Nath, Nana Patekar, Sajid Khan among others.
Last year, the actor had walked out of Kushan Nandy’s “Babumoshai Bandookbaaz” which had Nawazuddin Siddiqui as a co-star, as she was uncomfortable doing an intimate scene.
Chitrangada says the best thing happening now is that people are talking about the movement.
“We are standing up to them and saying that it’s not ok to behave like this. It’s very important what’s happening, what MAMI has done and how a committee has been set up (by the producers guild). But beyond that, it’s on us to say it’s not ok,” Chitrangada told PTI.
“It’s not ok to be talked, treated or touched in a certain way. This isn’t normal. Now people say ‘chalta hai’, ‘only this much has happened right? Not a lot?’ That needs to change. This is not ok at all,” she added.
The actor says there is a change which has started happening already and it’s important for more voices to keep coming out.
“I hope the movement goes on, it isn’t just a fad. I hope the media sticks with it. It’s an amazing thing. There’s a genuine change that’ll happen. Because it was boiling under for so long, it just had to happen.
“Hence I feel it’s here to stay, otherwise it would’ve gone. A lot of women are hanging on to it with hope…The men who are wrong should be (scared). It’s about time,” she added.
While the actor is happy that so many women have come out, she says the movement now needs the support of powerful people.
“It’s very important for people up there, the powerful ones, to take a stand and say ‘we won’t stand by people who are behaving like this’. That’s when it trickles down. You set an example. It’ll have to start with feat of certain amount- legal action, social shaming.
“It’s towards a healthier society for everybody, not just for a girl. A man has to know it isn’t healthy to behave this way. We need to tell them that. The whole definition of normal needs to change,” she added.
Chitrangada will be next seen in Baazaar co-staring Saif Ali Khan. Directed by Gauravv Chawla and written by Nikkhil Advani, the crime-drama is scheduled to release on October 26.
