Bollywood and victim shaming
In the film industries of Mumbai and Nigeria, sexual predators are often shielded by their peers
Two major Bollywood rape-revenge dramas released in 2017 had beefy heroes take on men or gangs who had sexually assaulted their wives or daughters. But off-screen, predators in the world’s most prolific film industry are protected by victims’ silence.
Actors from India’s Bollywood to Nigeria’s Nollywood, both of which produce more films than Hollywood, said sexual abuse and harassment is rife, but victims almost never speak out.
A deluge of claims against Hollywood film mogul Harvey Weinstein has sparked countless stories of sexual harassment in the social media #MeToo campaign, with women using Twitter and Facebook to recount experiences of being abused, groped, molested and raped by bosses, teachers and family.
Weinstein has been accused of sexually harassing and assaulting numerous women, including A-list actresses, over the past three decades. The film producer has denied having non-consensual sex.
While actresses in Nigeria said poverty forced many women in Nollywood to keep quiet about harassment for fear of losing roles, their Indian counterparts said Bollywood’s ‘boys club’ and pervasive victim shaming stopped them from going public.
“It is the culture of victim shaming, the culture of silence that is present everywhere, not just Bollywood,” said Richa Chadda, an Indian actress who has blogged about #MeToo. “It is glamorous to talk about Bollywood, but the problem is that girls (everywhere) are not treated equally and don’t feel safe,” she said in a phone interview. “When you speak up, you risk losing your position, your career.”
While some big Bollywood names have been charged with rape and harassment, they have rarely lost the support of their peers. When a big name actor was arrested earlier this year following the abduction and rape of a popular actress in Kerala, industry figures soon tweeted their support. The actor is still awaiting trial.
In one widely reported case last month, a leading Bollywood producer was arrested on charges of raping a 25-year-old aspiring actress and taking pictures of her naked.
But not everyone is convinced there is a problem. Bipendra Nath Tiwari, president of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees,
an umbrella organisation of 22 unions, said they had recently created a ‘health and safety’ committee that will also look at sexual harassment cases.
But he said the federation, which numbers 250,000 members including performers, sound technicians and make-up artists, had never received any harassment complaints. “Bollywood is a clean industry,” he added.