#MeToo is not about male bashing at all: Chitrangda

According to actor Chitrangda Singh, the #MeToo movement is not at all a battlefield for genders. The actor asserts that it is about making society safe for all.

“The beginning of every change is when we start talking about it. And the talk has started. Realistically speaking, there is a huge difference in Western society and us. Just because we watch English shows and movies doesn’t make us that society.

“There is a difference in our society and in our thought process, and that is the reason why we can’t have a similar #MeToo movement in India,” she says.

The actor adds, “I want to quote Tanushree Dutta here. She was right in saying that for a #MeToo movement to happen, society has to create that atmosphere. We need to be ready in our intent, not just an idea.”

Chitrangda feels that men and women need to be on the same page to bring about a change. “Until the men in our society feel that it is their responsibility to come and stand next to women and make them feel safe, it (the impact of #MeToo) is very difficult.”

The actor stresses that it is not at all about men versus woman. “It is about making our society safe. It is not male bashing at all. #MeToo movement is for men as well,” she says.

After making quite an impact in the West, the #MeToo wave has swept into Bollywood and beyond following Tanushree revisiting an unpleasant episode with actor Nana Patekar on the sets of Horn ‘OK’ Pleassss (2008).

Chitrangda supports Tanushree. “I believe her. I want to hear what Nana has to say. But my only take on this — and I am not only saying this for Tanushree — is that if there is truth, then it must be heard. It doesn’t matter whether she came out after three years or five years or ten years.”

After Tanushree, many women have come out to name and shame their predators. Big names such as filmmakers Vikas Bahl and Sajid Khan, author Chetan Bhagat, singer Kailash Kher, actors Rajat Kapoor, and Alok Nath, and music director Anu Malik are under the scanner for allegedly ‘exploiting their position’.

The actor, who walked out of Babumoshai Bandookbaaz (2017) citing discomfort while shooting intimate scenes with co-star Nawazuddin Siddiqui, says that what hurts her the most in the ongoing debate is when people say, “Tab kyun nahi boli (why didn’t you say then)?”. That is shocking and disheartening,” she says.

However, she understands the problem behind it. “It is because somewhere men feel that they need to be defensive,” she says.

I want to quote (actor) Tanushree Dutta here. She was right in saying that for a #MeToo movement to happen, society has to create that atmosphere. We need to be ready in our intent. It is about making our society safe. The movement is for men as well. CHITRANGDA SINGH, ACTOR

PHOTO: YOGEN SHAH