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With many women accusing director Sajid Khan of sexual harassment, Farah Khan condemns her brother's behaviour, and tweeted in support of all the women hurt by him.
With many women accusing director Sajid Khan of sexual harassment, Farah Khan condemns her brother’s behaviour, and tweeted in support of all the women hurt by him.
Cinema is one such industry that has often been considered very unsafe for women. Parents spend sleepless nights if their daughters aspire to become actresses, directors or wish to take up any other role in the film industry. The belief is that women are just glam dolls, there is very less respect for them, and of course that there is widespread sexual harassment, abuse, casting couch and what-not!
Looking at all the cases that are coming into light, it certainly seems as if these beliefs may have a basis in truth. With #MeToo movement raging wild there is now some hope that there will be a change in the entertainment industry.
Initially, when #MeToo started with Tanushree Dutta, film fraternity underestimated it to be yet another small spark towards change that would die down soon. Hence many big names, for their own personal reasons, kept mum. But it has become huge now, and is compelling everyone to take a stand. People have no choice but to speak up about it.
What came as a pleasant surprise, though, was Sajid Khan’s own director and choreographer sister Farah Khan’s tweet in support of all those women accusing her brother. It’s a massive change, and a little difficult to believe, because when Tanushree Datta opened up about Nana Patekar, who is a part of their upcoming movie Houseful 4, without taking any action the crew had happily gone abroad for a shoot. Farah Khan had even tweeted a happy picture with Nana and other cast members of their departure.
This is a heartbreaking time for my family.We have to work through some very difficult issues. If my brother has behaved in this manner he has a lot to atone for.I don’t in any way endorse this behavior and Stand in solidarity with any woman who has been hurt. — Farah Khan (@TheFarahKhan) October 12, 2018
This is a heartbreaking time for my family.We have to work through some very difficult issues. If my brother has behaved in this manner he has a lot to atone for.I don’t in any way endorse this behavior and Stand in solidarity with any woman who has been hurt.
— Farah Khan (@TheFarahKhan) October 12, 2018
But now things and situation appear very different. Even Akshay Kumar, the lead actor of Houseful 4, stayed quiet when Tanushree accused Nana Patekar. Tanushree questioned Akshay’s wife Twinkle Khanna’s support to her as Twinkle’s husband was shooting with Nana then. Yet, Akshay didn’t respond. But now after the many accusations against Sajid Khan, Akshay has asked for, and got the shoot schedules cancelled for the time being. Due to all the pressures, even Sajid Khan himself has stepped down as the director of the film Houseful 4. Isn’t this a change in the power dynamics? Yes, it is indeed!
pic.twitter.com/deSRvNnkAA — Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) October 12, 2018
pic.twitter.com/deSRvNnkAA
— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) October 12, 2018
Why do you think there was such blatant sexual harassment in the industry? Why were women mistreated? Why were films unsafe for women? Is it because they were the easy targets of men with huge power like Sajid Khan, Vikas Bahl, Subhash Ghai? But with #MeToo there is a shift in power. It’s not just these men who are powerful anymore, women with their voice and a platform like social media to speak up are gaining better agency.
A woman often stays quiet and suffers in silence for years. But there definitely comes a time when she decides to take it no more and stands up for herself. With movements like #MeToo, her determination would be even stronger because she is not alone. There are thousands of women out there just like her, who have suffered in the hands of power, ready to stand up for each other.
So, dear men, beware! You might be a director with 100 successful movies, an actor with 50 awards, a writer with crores in your bank account or a comedian with million fan followers; if you ever illtreat any women thinking that they are ‘weak’, you’ll never be spared for sure.
Image Source – Wikipedia, Bollywood Hungama [CC BY 3.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons
Apart from being the Associate Editor at Women's Web, where I get to read, edit and write a lot of interesting articles, my life is simple. It begins at 'M' (Movies) and ends with ' read more...
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Women today don’t want to be in a partnership that complicates their lives further. They need an equal partner with whom they can figure out life as a team, playing by each other’s strengths.
We all are familiar with that one annoying aunty who is more interested in our marital status than in the dessert counter at a wedding. But these aunties have somehow become obsolete now. Now they are replaced by men we have in our lives. Friends, family, and even work colleagues. It’s the men who are worried about why we are not saying yes to one among their clans. What is wrong with us? Aren’t we scared of dying alone? Like them?
A recent interaction with a guy friend of mine turned sour when he lectured me about how I would regret not getting married at the right time. He lectured that every event in our lives needs to be completed within a certain timeframe set by society else we are doomed. I wasn’t angry. I was just disappointed to realize that annoying aunties are rapidly doubling in our society. And they don’t just appear at weddings or family functions anymore. They are everywhere. They are the real pandemic.
Let’s examine this a little closer.
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