Daisy Irani Was Raped At 6; Farhan Akhtar Applauds His Aunt’s Courage To Open Up About It

There is a strong wave of #MeeToo movement in Bollywood and Hollywood, where actors are coming up and talking openly about any prevalent sexual harassment and assault they have experienced, especially at workplace.

But it’s now about #MeeToo movement which has made the 1950s’ actress, Daisy Irani open up about a childhood traumatic incident, but her want to make as many child artistes aware of such ghastly acts.

In an interview to Mumbai Mirror, Daisy Irani has revealed that she was raped at the age of 6 by her guardian. The unfortunate and shameful incident took place when the young actress was out for the shoot of her film, Hum Panchhi Ek Dal Ke, in Madras. Her guardian, Nazar uncle had accompanied her to the city.

"One night in the hotel room he violated me, hit me with a belt and threatened to kill me if I told anyone." Daisy told the leading daily. The senior actress further added that she doesn't remember the incident clearly, but can never forget the "killing pain" and visuals of him belting her. Irani further revealed that when she eventually told her mother about it years later, there was nothing that could be done.

Talking about how the incident affected her life, the senior actress said, "As I grew up, I started flirting outrageously, I would tease and taunt men. I did not even understand what I was doing."

She also got very protective of younger sister Honey, when she entered the movies.

Daisy’s two sisters- Honey, mother of Zoya and Farhan, married scriptwriter-lyricist Javed Akhtar when she was 18, while the third sister Menaka, Farah and Sajid Khan’s mother, married filmmaker Kamran Khan when she was 19.

Farhan Akhtar took to social media to appreciate his aunt’s courage to talk about the unfortunate incident openly and make more people aware of such disgusting acts.

While concluding, Irani said she wanted to make children in the industry aware and urge them to be careful. "Child actors have it tough. In a majority of cases they have been taken advantage of. Maybe a few have had it easy, but most don't, really."