#MeToo has reached Pakistan. Will it ever come to Bollywood?
What's the story
Pakistani singer Meesha Shafi accused singer-actor Ali Zafar of repeated sexual misconduct on Twitter yesterday. Zafar has categorically denied the claims and said he'd sue Shafi for levelling false allegations against him. Though it's too early to take sides, we can safely say #MeToo has reached Pakistan, a few months after it first took the world by storm. But will it ever come to Bollywood?
Twitter Post
Meesha Shafi breaks silence
Sharing this because I believe that by speaking out about my own experience of sexual harassment, I will break the culture of silence that permeates through our society. It is not easy to speak out.. but it is harder to stay silent. My conscience will not allow it anymore #MeToo pic.twitter.com/iwex7e1NLZ
— Meesha Shafi (@itsmeeshashafi) April 19, 2018
Incidents
It's not like actresses haven't spoken up
The silence around sexual abuse in the Indian film industry is deafening but it's not like no woman has ever come forward. Kangana Ranaut has repeatedly accused Aditya Pancholi of sexually/emotionally/physically harassing her when she was younger. More recently, Telugu actress Sri Reddy alleged she was not given fair chance to work in the film and was sexually exploited by directors/producers. She even held a semi-nude protest.
Details
But the outbursts have been few, guarded, driven by agendas
The reason why #MeToo never picked up in Bollywood is because even its 'woke' actors play way too safe. They (Radhika Apte, Swara Bhaskar) would talk about their experiences, condemn the predators but not name them. And then there are others, who exploit it as a tool to market movies. Ever wondered why Kangana throws the muck around only before the release of her films?
Reasons
It's unlikely for Bollywood to ever have its #MeToo reckoning
You ask why? Because the nexus is impenetrable, the nepotism generational, the hypocrisy shocking and the powerful indifferent. Why would you want to solve a problem when you are a part of it? In a video for the BBC, actress Kalki Koechlin gets it right. "It's a very difficult step to take. Because it's their career on the line," she says matter of factly.
Owning up
Men need to take responsibility too
Vishesh Films chief, Mukesh Bhatt's Reuters interview of November 2017, sums up neatly just why a #MeToo is nearly impossible in Bollywood. When asked about the rampant sexual abuse in Indian film industry, he said, "What can we do? We cannot do any moral policing. We cannot keep moral cops outside every film office to see that no girl is being exploited."
Way out
Shit has hit the fan. Speak, fellas! It's about time
If a singer in Pakistan — a country arguably more conservative than ours — can do it, why can't Bollywood superstars? Dear actors, it's time you stopped exploiting a global movement for personal gains. That's mocking, discrediting it and the brave women it represents. You must speak up, but in a way that counts. Because if not now, when? If not you, who?