Former Miss India and actor, Tanushree Dutta, has alleged, once again, that she faced sexual harassment while shooting a dance sequence on the sets of the film, “Horn Ok Please”, in 2008. Her claims of being molested by Nana Patekar and the followed cover-up by the producers and choreographer corresponds to the accounts of at least two witnesses who have come out supporting her narrative; namely Janice Sequeira, a journalist and Shyni Shetty, film’s assistant director.
Tanushree also alleged that she was attacked by the workers of Maharashtra Navnirnam Sena (MNS) party on the sets. A horrific video of her car being vandalised and tires being deflated has gone viral. Patekar’s only reaction has been, “What sexual harassment?”. Majority of the media outlets are hailing this as Bollywood’s #MeToo movement, but that would be a shame since I do not believe this will upend unequal power dynamics and inherent sexism that is prevalent in the industry.
Dutta’s narrative paints a pathetic picture of the glittering, shimmering world of the film industry but, mind you; this should not be surprising to the fraternity and the audience. We have assimilated and known this culture for too long. Demands of sexual favours, intimidations of lost opportunities, physical threats, warnings regarding career et al. One of the justifications for this kind of horrible expectations from women in cinema, has been that the world of glamour thrives on sexual appetizing and bare portrayal of women as delectable objects on display, to be consumed by masses. This is downright depraved and irrational.
If you cut through the clutter, this is basically saying that actresses deserve it; if they choose to pursue a career in acting. Men sitting on a pedestal in huge production houses should be accounted for the environment that has been constructed, where women gradually become compliant to move up the ladder (part of the business, as they claim). Demanding sex for exchange of work is a punishable crime in the country and Bollywood is no exception. Another justification offered by the “woke guys” on Twitter is that if the victims didn’t raise their voices when they were assaulted, it’s utterly futile to speak about it later, as likely no tangible justice will be served later.
This point seems partially fair, but you have to understand the long-standing culture of repression and silencing of victims, the lack of a fair internal mechanism to address complaints of this nature, and the likely threat of libel and possibly, a doomed career. The fickle media, which is calling Tanushree “brave” now, used to regressively stereotype her and publish overly sexual gossips about her during her time in Bollywood. Media is highly complicit in the tradition of keeping silent, by functioning in a binary. They either sensationalise the heck out of an incident or downright push it under the rug ( if it is not sellable enough). No shred of objectively reporting a traumatic event and holding the accused accountable or following up on the procedures taken is ever seen. Film fraternity too keeps mum on sensitive topics like this. How long will it take, for these cozied up dolts to realise that speaking up and supporting a fellow actor will be beneficial for them as well? A collective awakening is long due.
In recent times, a lot of rhetorics regarding gendered abuse and misogyny have been in vogue, but that’s about it. It’s only rhetorics. No real actions have been taken against the predators. A few have condemned the incident, but not a single person has seriously said that an action should be taken against Patekar. It’s a recurring pattern of men in positions of power, high on the socioeconomic ladder, abusing their resources and power, knowingly, to predate on young, vulnerable women. Another senseless argument that I have heard relentlessly is that women actively have sexual relations with older men and deny it later to gain ‘attention’. That is, quite honestly, effing stupid. It delegitimizes years of struggle, the sheer guts it takes to recount such incidents and shows how narrow-minded, people still are. If, and that’s a big if, such cases are there, then it’s unfortunate how a small portion of people can harm the whole movement. At this point, it is also worth noting that mixing power politics and sexual relations is problematic in workspaces.
Several production houses have set up their own sexual harassment cell recently, so the picture might not be that bleak in future. Still, our sociocultural fabric is what needs to be revitalised to enable radical change at the grassroots. Working spaces must comply with all the rules and regulations. What we need is a collective stand – that this behaviour will not be tolerated at all. Media, film fraternity, society and the likes need to step up.
But do you know what is unfortunate? Despite being aware of what exactly we need to do, we still are going to remain in this sorry situation. This might seem like a cynical stance but this particular episode, the way it is being handled, purely as a staple for the media, and the fact that it will likely be forgotten and hushed up eventually, is the reason I have little faith in the improvement of the current situation.
As a society, we are so damn complacent in our culture and mannerisms, that even a slight change stings many. Because change means, thinking rationally about your behaviour and initiating steps to foster a safe culture; change means you will be questioned about your problematic comments and actions, and you will be held accountable. It’s time we reconstruct our perception of how we are to conduct ourselves in the society. It’s time, some people feel the sting.
The post Wreaking Havoc For The Right To Be Heard: Why We Need To Believe Tanushree Dutta appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.