Tanushree Dutta Sexual Harassment Controversy: Kajol And Malaika Arora Speak Up
Here's what Kajol and Malaika Arora have to say about the Tanushree Dutta-Nana Patekar fight, which has been the talk of town since the past couple of weeks. Also, Nana spoke briefly to the media yesterday. Scroll down to read
Tanushree Dutta slamming Nana Patekar for sexual harassment on the sets of Horn 'Ok' Pleassss back in 2008 has become the biggest topic of discussion this year. Tanushree has got support from many leading ladies and men of B-Town. From Priyanka Chopra and Kangana Ranaut to Twinkle Khanna and Parineeti Chopra to Kunal Kapoor to Farhan Akhtar to Pulkit Samrat, they have opened up to say something the same. Even men like Kunal Kapoor and Pulkit Samrat have spoken up about the issue. The latest to have spoken up are Kajol and Malaika Arora.
While speaking to NDTV, Kajol said, "What she (Tanushree) speaks about is definitely the reality and I wouldn't say it's restricted to our industry. I think it's pretty much a concern all over, which ever field we talk about. I've never seen it but I have heard about it and it's always in rumour form. You never know it, no one is going to come up to you and say 'Hey, I did this!' I don't know how much of it is actually the truth or not. If it had happened in front of me, I'm sure I would have stood up or done something about it. Never happened to me. I don't think it would have happened in front of me. Most importantly, the whole point of the #MeToo movement is so that you can stand up for yourself even if not on a public platform. You need to stand up for yourself. You see people stand up for themselves and you stand up for yourself wherever you are."
Malaika Arora, while speaking to DNA said, "I’ve been following Tanushree’s case. What makes me sad is that people, and even the media, have been highly irresponsible as far as this incident is concerned. These are times where you should have a united front. I didn’t like the fact that many of them were questioning her about why she spoke 10 years later. How does it matter whether she spoke then or now? The fact that she’s speaking up should be respected. Obviously, it’s something that she’s dealt with a lot, over a period of time. That upset me the most. We should appreciate and applaud the fact that somebody’s finally sharing their story. We are preconditioned to think that women in these industries aren’t of great calibre or character. It’s disgusting. We need to realise that sexual harassment happens in every industry and wherever it happens, regardless of the space, it’s wrong. Why should a man or woman have to put themselves into a situation like this, thinking that they have to go to a hellhole every morning? Workplaces definitely need to be made safer. There is a deep sense of fear within most of them when it comes to talking about such situations or experiences that they have been subjected to. Women feel that if they speak up, they will jeopardise their career and everybody will cast aspersions on their character. The first step is to talk, but unfortunately, if you do so, you are vilified for it or made to feel less of a person. We need to clap for her (Tanushree) for being able to overcome this hurdle. We are living in a country where there’s noise, but nobody’s willing to do anything about it. Change will come only when everyone acts upon things like these. The mindset needs to transform. But is that going to happen overnight? No, because it stems from a certain pre-conditioning, whether it’s lack of education or the ‘ladka kabhi galat nahin kar sakta’ norm we follow. That’s the kind of society we live in. Agar problem hai toh ladki ki hi galti hai. She must have worn a small skirt or gone out late at night. Nobody turns around and blames the guy. Once that changes, you’ll hopefully see a lot of transformation in the country."
Meanwhile, Nana Patekar returned to Mumbai last evening. While he was walking out of the airport, when asked by the media, he didn't speak much but simply said, "Jo jhooth hai, woh jhooth hai (A lie is a lie). Dus saal pehle iska jawaab de chuka hoon (I had said this 10 years ago)." The Housefull 4 actor is said to be planning a press conference soon to take all media questions related to the matter.
Image Source: instagram/iamtanushreeduttaofficial/malaikaaroraworld/kajoleelafans
