‘WOMEN SHOULD SUPPORT WOMEN’

Karisma Kapoor shares her thoughts on the #Metoo movement in India as well as the paparazzi’s obsession with her nephew Taimur Ali Khan as she attends the Sharjah International Children’s Film Festival

HOLLYWOOD HAD ITS #Metoo movement last year. While many were expecting this movement to gain traction in the Hindi film industry, nobody would have envisioned the tsunami that has been unleashed in the last three weeks. The movement was triggered by Tanushree Dutta when she revisited the harassment she had to endure from Nana Patekar on the sets of a movie, ten years back. She was hailed as a hero by many, with many women from different parts of the industry coming out with their stories - naming and shaming the perpetrators. Sajid Khan, Vikas Bahl, Subhash Kapoor, and many others were fired from their projects as a result of the sexual harassment allegations levied against them.

Bollywood which practices the culture of silence has started talking about it even though it is sad that many big names like Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan have avoided talking about it and giving answers which almost trivialise the serious matter. When we met Karisma Kapoor on Monday at the Sharjah International Children’s Film Festival where she was the chief guest, she spoke about the rising #Metoo movement in Bollywood and the steps that should be taken to take it ahead in the best possible way. Many women from the Hindi film industry have promised to never work with proven sexual offenders again.

“Honestly, I would just like to say that women should support women,” said Karisma while talking to City Times. “And I respect all the women who are taking big steps and coming out to share the stories. The workplace needs to be a safe environment. In fact, not only the workplace but every place needs to have a safe atmosphere,” she added giving her strong support to this movement.

Almost all the Hindi film industry unions have announced that they will have strict guidelines supporting women’s safety going ahead.

When asked if the film industry had failed Tanushree Dutta, since it took nearly ten years for any action to be taken against the perpetrator, Karisma refrained from talking about Tanushree specifically but gave her respect to all the survivors who have come out with their stories. “I don’t want to take any personal names. But I really respect all these women who are coming out and talking about sexual harassment.”