#METOO POWER: AAMIR WALKS OUT OF MOGUL

The actor steps away from the Gulshan Kumar biopic due to sexual misconduct allegations against its director

In the past few weeks, the #MeToo movement in India has been gaining steam. And in the wake of it, actorfilmmaker Aamir Khan has decided to “step away” from the Gulshan Kumar biopic, Mogul. The decision was made due to allegations of sexual misconduct against the film’s directorwriter Subhash Kapoor. He was accused of molestation by actor Geetika Tyagi in 2014. Aamir, who was co-producing the film, made a statement along with wife Kiran Rao, announcing his decision on Twitter late Wednesday evening. Though the statement did not mention the project and the person’s name, it said, “we have always had a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual misconduct”, and after “it was brought to our attention that someone we were about to begin work with has been accused of sexual misconduct. Upon enquiry we found that this particular case is sub judice, and that the legal process is in motion. We are not an investigative agency, nor are we in any position to pass judgement on anyone - that is for the police and judiciary to do. So, without casting any aspersions on anyone involved in this case, and without coming to any conclusions about these specific allegations, we have decided to step away from this film.”

Reacting to the decision, Subhash tweeted, “I understand and respect Aamir Khan’s and Kiran Rao’s decision. Since matter is subjudice, I intend to prove my innocence in the court of law. But I do want to raise a question - is secretly filming a crying woman without her consent and knowledge and uploading it on social media not harrassment or abuse? Or is it fine if she is related to someone who is “allegedly accused” of misconduct. If your answer is latter then for me it’s nothing less then a khaap panchayat mentality (sic).”

The film’s co-producer, Bhushan Kumar, told Indian Express that his company, T-Series, will not be associated with Subhash because of the allegations levelled against him and that “you can understand from his (Aamir’s) tweet he has nothing against us”. He added that he couldn’t comment if Aamir will come back on board after Subhash’s exit.

Earlier this week, Geetika had tweeted that Aamir was working with Subhash, and after the actor’s statement, she thanked him, saying, “This is COMMENDABLE and this is the kind of support we want so that more and more women can come out.”

PHOTO: YOGEN SHAH Subhash Kapoor