Hrithik Roshan’s explosive interview with Arnab Goswami
has resulted in Twitterati giving him a thumbs up. Now, his friend Farhan
Akhtar took to Facebook to express his opinion on the controversy surrounding
the superstar and Kangana Ranaut.
The actor drafted a meaningful post on why the issue
between the two stars has to be looked at
Here’s what Farhan wrote:
“Today I read an open letter written by a man I know
about a woman I know, professionally, at best. Although a controversy about them
is going around since a while now, to my best knowledge this is the first time
this man has expressed his point of view.
I am not the authority on who is right or wrong in their situation, that’s for
the cybercrime officials to figure out, but I do feel certain aspects of the
way the events have unfolded need comment.
Like anyone who has an iota of objectivity and sense of
fairness, I too agree that in our society, more often than not, it is the woman
who suffers injustice and repression. It is horrifying but true that in some
cases of rape, a section of society has blamed the victim.
I have always found this to be unacceptable.
Kangana Ranaut
4 years ago, I founded MARD (Men Against Rape &
Discrimination) and through the initiative, I have been vocal in my fight against
gender related violence and in highlighting cases of discrimination against
women and the LGBTI community.
Although it is true that in most cases it is a woman that has been wronged,
there is a difference between ‘most’ and ‘all’.
However few and rare they may be, there have been cases where men have been
stalked, harassed and falsely accused. This reality has been accepted by the
highest courts of our land.
It is in this spirit of objectivity and fairness that
today I must speak up.
The way this episode has played out with sections of our
media is worrisome.
Some of our most reputed journalists have, consciously or unconsciously, pushed
one side of the narrative WITHOUT having or presenting any evidence to back the
claims being made by the woman. They’ve accepted her story at face value.
Isn’t this discriminating against the other party?
For a moment, lets put aside emotion, prejudice, biases,
our understandably protective instincts and look at the facts as they exist today.
She claims they had an affair lasting 7 years and during
that period, they exchanged a number of emails.
Farhan Akhtar
While he denies ever mailing her, he has filed an official complaint, shared
and submitted all necessary information and documents, handed over his personal
phone and laptop to the concerned authorities.
The woman has not. Apparently, she has avoided, till date, submitting her
personal communication devices citing some reason or the other.
In some past cases, this lack of cooperation has been deemed to be obstruction
of justice.
Handing over her phone and computer is not only the right thing to do morally
and legally but is also the best possible way for her to prove she’s telling
the truth. So why refuse or delay?
Apparently, he has over a thousand emails from her
official email account which are intimate and sexual in their content. She
claims not to have written them but alleges that he hacked her account and
mailed himself.
If they were in a 7 year long mutually agreeable relationship, why would he
need to do that? Does it not defy logic?
Also, did he reply to any of her emails?
As far as we know, No. Not one single time.
Pause here and ask yourself..
If a woman was to receive these sort of emails from a man and she claimed
harassment, what would your immediate reaction be?
Would you have given the man the benefit of doubt by believing him if he said
they were in a relationship and she had hacked into his computer and sent
herself the mails..
Chances are you wouldn’t.
There’s more.
She posted a picture of them together claiming it was
taken during the years of their alleged affair. That picture was proved, beyond
doubt, to have been manipulated.
The actual image consisted of a group of friends including the man’s wife (now
ex-wife) standing together in a party.
Why were the others intentionally cropped out?
She has no messages and no photographs to prove that she
was in a 7 year long relationship with this man. Not even a picture of their
alleged engagement in Paris, an event which he denies.
Hrithik Roshan
Furthermore, he has asserted that his passport does not bear any stamp of
travel to France during the time she alleges the engagement occurred nor are
there any credible witnesses to this event.
Don’t all these inconsistencies raise questions in your
mind about the authenticity of the accusations?
So what is the truth?
Well, the truth is that WE do not know the truth.
The reason I felt the need to say this is that it is
apparent that some people have already jumped to conclusions while some are
deriving some sort of voyeuristic pleasure by encouraging the woman to carry on
speaking.
This is being done without a seconds pause to consider the effect her words
will have on the person, his family or his children. As great as all of it may
be for TRP, it’s in terrible taste.
Until such a time that the matter is brought to its
logical conclusion by the authorities, we must avoid vilifying the man on the
basis of unsubstantiated statements.
That is what we would have done if this story had played
the other way around. That’s what we must do given how it is now.
Let’s not discriminate.”
Makes you think, doesn’t it?
Image Source: Instagram/kangana_ranaut_team