Daisy Irani Was Raped At 6; Farhan Akhtar Applauds His Aunt’s Courage To Open Up About It
In a shocking revelation, renowned actress, Daisy Irani has said that she was raped by her guardian when she was 6-years-old...
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.
Heartbroken upon reading this article but proud that my aunt #DaisyIrani spoke up. It’s tragic to see parents push their kids to breaking point in order to achieve success vicariously through them. This should serve as wake up call for the film & TV industry. Be aware. Be warned. https://t.co/8ONbHJ21lG
— Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) March 23, 2018
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."