A little background about me before I answer this question. I have completed my bachelors in Mass Media (Journalism) and then did my law. I had a short stint as an Entertainment Journalist, and presently, I practice in Media Laws and IPR. So, I know quite a few people and have worked with a few celebs and start-ups. During my Mass Media days, I had a professor, who along with her husband was working as an Assistant Director with a reputed Director in the film industry at that time. I remember she had once told us during a lecture, about these particular actors who act ‘sanskari’ onscreen but in real life are ‘womanisers’. Some of them need different women every day, and some require a specific type of women to be a part of their shoot always. A quick search on Quora will give you the details of these so-called family men.
Post-college a few of my friends, also started working as AD on different sets, initially they were more of a source of gossip, and we felt entertained with their news and scoop, but later on, during my stint as an Entertainment Journalist, I had actually witnessed these creepy old uncles openly approaching aspiring models. I also overheard once at a film’s launch party, how the producer had booked a few rooms in the same five-star hotel, where the party was held, for the actress of the movie to ‘entertain’ the guests. I also met Kailash Kher once at SAE Andheri, for an interview, where there were many other journalists. He called the journalist he thought was the ‘prettiest’ ahead and told all the rest that he would give the interview to her first and then we could either take notes from that or talk separately to him. She was from a reputed Hindi News Channel. I was a 19-year-old nerd – young and stupid. I thought he was giving her this exclusivity because of the big channel banner. But reality struck me when I saw that 10-minute interview, he held her hand throughout. It took me a while to understand what was going on.
The #Metoo Movement is now a revolution and a much-needed one because:
- Sexual Harassment – whether the victim is male or female is wrong. It’s high time that we talk about this, accept this and find a solution for the same.
- A person from any gender or background can be the victim.
- Most of the people who have been accused in this movement are either people who are senior established professionals or youngsters, who got the money, power, fame, and position – giving them the agency to exploit others.
- Thanks to the social media and WhatsApp, it is no longer possible to keep a lot of dirty secrets, this movement will now make both men and women alert about their dirty secrets and the consequences of the same.
- It will make our society more responsible and empathetic towards victims of sexual assault and harassment.
- Yes, there have been cases of a few girls, who have been trying to misuse this movement, but the men accused falsely were able to handle the situation, and this should not tarnish this important movement.
I hope this movement is taken seriously and people get back to their senses. Just a request, please do not use this momentum for your revenge.