i have observed the #metoo movement from a distance, with the detached demeanor of a monk, ever since its Indian avatar unraveled a few weeks ago. as the movement gained momentum exponentially, and fresh names -of male perpetrators and their female victims- cropped up on an ever increasing basis, accompanied sometimes with graphic detail, i wondered as to why it required the courage of someone like Tanushree Dutta, who never managed to cross the fringes of Bollywood, to open the floodgates. What also amazed me was the bandwidth which the alleged perpetrators represented- from entertainment (which is a wider term and in its ambit includes music, acting direction etal) to journalism to politics.
as expected , there was a fusillade of allegations and counter-allegations from all sides, leading to a situation where it became difficult to assess as to who is speaking the truth and who might be taking the help of subterfuge. As happens in most such cases, public opinion favored the female protagonist, from whose side the allegations of sexual misconduct- of varying degrees- were leveled, although questions were raised as to why some of the ladies kept quite for so long, and why most of them opened up in front of the media instead of going to the law enforcing agencies.
while some of the cases involved high octane celebrities, others were pure duds, well past their prime, and their only claim to fame was the media’s unending appetite for cheap masala. Not surprisingly, most of the episodes vanished from the headlines faster than they had first appeared, although some of them did extract a toll before that. while some just faded away like the winter Sun, for others there was a flurry of legal activity-defamation cases , FIRs etc. But knowing the pace at which the Indian legal system works, it will be decades before any of the trials can reach a logical conclusion, by the time it will have no real sense of justice for the accuser-if the accusation is correct, and it would be too late for the accused to retrieve his tarnished image, if the accusation is wrong.
so, why am i writing about this at this stage, when the movement is on the wane. Because i like most of the films made by Raj Kumar Hirani, and when his name cropped up, my hackles were raised. it is a rather serious allegation made by his assistant, who accused him of sexual misconduct over a period of several months while filming his latest blockbuster Sanju. Immediately, several respected names of the industry sprung to his support. that a lady has had the courage to speak against someone of the stature of Hirani speaks of her guts. But then, what if there is an ulterior motive? Just a thought…..the man’s reputation, built assiduously over the years will be dismembered within minutes. has it not happened in the past. can’t it happen in the future.
if someone goes to the law enforcing agencies, then the road ahead is clear. the problem arises if someone takes the other route, of expressing grouse through the media, which, many times these days, is on lookout for news that is malicious, rather than the truth. so what can be done to ensure that while the predators are punished, innocent people do not fall victim to frivolous and mischievous complaints. it is the dispensation of quick justice, by committees comprising respected people from within the fraternity, who can dispassionately listen to both sides of the story (maybe a jury), which can recommend a suitable reprimand or course of action.
Musings of a Delhi Boy 