TURNING THE TIDE

The #Metoo wave finally hits India with a cascade of allegations against the high and mighty, sparking a raging debate on sexual harassment and consent

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Call it a bonfire of the vanities or an all-consuming sacrificial havan. But the “MeToo” flames now sweeping across social media have turned into a cleansing firestorm, burning holes in carefully honed public personas and turning the heat back on those whose job is to keep the social conscience and hold the powerful to account.

From best-selling authors to creative filmmakers to senior media editors and other guardians of public morality — people across industries are being named and shamed by the “MeToo” and “Time’s Up” movements which began in Hollywood a year ago.

It was actress Tanushree Dutta who last month gave the MeToo campaign the much-needed spark in India when she renewed an old allegation against acting veteran Nana Patekar of harassment on the sets of a 2008 film, “Horn OK Pleasss”.

A decade ago when she came up with the same accusation, she says she felt silenced by those in power.

But now, there’s silence no more.

As Nandita Das noted, “The hushed whispers are getting louder and are finally being heard.”

“Unlike in the past when such discussions disappeared all too quickly from the media, this time it appears that more people are listening. Women at the work place and outside too often face harassment and violence that almost always goes unreported. Especially, though not only, when perpetrated by powerful men.

“I am adding my voice in support with the hope that more lasting change comes out of this,” Das said.

The fire has spread from Bollywood and the comedy space to the news media industry as well, with a slew of journalists and editors being named.

Soon after Tanushree’s media interactions, actors Rajat Kapoor, Zulfi Syed, writer Chetan Bhagat and a string of editors were named and shamed on social media by women who accused them of sexual misconduct.

THE FALLOUT

Trouble for All India Bakchod (AIB) arose when a volley of allegations against Utsav Chakraborty — a YouTuber who was once associated with AIB — cropped up after a woman Twitter user wrote Chakraborty had sent unsolicited pictures of private parts to women and harassed girls, including minors, through social media platforms.

AIB co-founder and CEO Tanmay Bhat was called out for not acting against complaints regarding Chakraborty.

Soon after that, AIB in a statement said Tanmay and Gursimran have “stepped away” from the collective.

TURNING THE TIDE

“We cannot overlook Tanmay’s role and in light of this he will be stepping away from his association with AIB until further notice,” read a statement from Vidhi Jotwani, AIB’s Head of Human Resources. Tanmay will not be involved with AIB’s day-to-day functioning or in any other matter.

Gursimran was accused of sexual misconduct, and has been sent “on a temporary leave until we have more clarity on the matter”, AIB said.

The future of AIB seems to be uncertain with the two key persons being driven out.

This comes after the disbanding of Phantom Films, which comprised filmmakers Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane, Madhu Mantena and Vikas Bahl.

Bahl, director of “Queen”, was last year named for allegedly sexually harassing a woman in 2015. With the #MeToo wave on high tide, he is now once again in the centre of controversy. Leading celebrities have spoken up against the harassment that goes behind the gloss and glamour, and how the industry protects the “creeps” by letting complaints go unanswered or unaddressed.

Hrithik Roshan, who stars in Bahl’s upcoming “Super 30”, recently urged the movie’s producers to take a “hard stand” if need be.

“It is impossible for me to work with any person if he/she is guilty of such grave misconduct … I have requested the producers of ‘Super 30’ to take stock of the apparent facts and take a hard stand if need be. All proven offenders must be punished and all exploited people must be empowered and given strength to speak up,” Hrithik tweeted.

Veteran actor Alok Nath is also under the scanner for allegedly sexually assaulting writer-producer Vinta Nanda 19 years ago and harassing other female actors on sets.

As the Metoo movement gathered more momentum, Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan stepped away from a film, because “someone” associated with the movie was accused of sexual misconduct.

While Aamir did not name the person or the film, it is noteworthy that filmmaker Subhash Kapoor, who was roped in to direct the Gulshan Kumar biopic — to be co-produced by Aamir Khan Productions — has been accused of molestation by an actress in 2014.

Kiran Rao is the Chairperson of Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival and its team has dropped two movies — Rajat Kapoor’s “Kadakh” and AIB’s “Chintu Ka Birthday” — from its line-up in the wake of sexual harassment allegations against the actor-filmmaker and some members of the comedy collective.

MEDIA: MAKING NEWS

After accusations in the film industry and comedy, the media industry saw its own Metoo moment when prominent journalist Prashant Jha stepped down as chief of bureau and political editor of Hindustan Times with the media house looking into the allegations of sexual misconduct against him.

The allegations concerning the media have surfaced over the past few days with several names, including some prominent ones, being mentioned in the social media. Journalist Siddharth Bhatia issued a statement rubbishing allegations against him. Women journalists have taken to the social media with their accounts of harassment inside and outside the newsrooms and some of them have posted snapshots of Whatsapp chats using Metoo hashtag.

TURNING THE TIDE

Dinesh Mittal, Group general counsel HT media said that a sexual harassment committee was looking into the allegations made against Jha by a former colleague.

“It is proper that for fair investigation, till time the investigation is complete, he [Jha] doesn’t have any managerial position. A sexual harassment committee with an external member is conducting a probe into the allegations against him,” Mittal said.

The allegations were that Jha sent inappropriate messages on WhatsApp to the accuser. Screenshots of the conversation with Jha were also posted on Twitter.

Bhatia, a founder Editor of The Wire, said in his statement that he could not recall either the two women who had made the allegations or the incident they had mentioned.

Several other allegations against senior journalists were made on the social media. Former DNA Editor-in-Chief Gautam Adhikari and the Times of India’s Hyderabad Resident Editor K.R. Sreenivas also rubbished allegations against them. Allegations have also been made against Mayank Jain of Business Standard.

Meanwhile, the Network of Women in Media in India (NWMI), an organisation comprising women journalists, condemned “the rampant sexism and misogyny in Indian newsrooms” and demanded media organisations probe allegations and take appropriate actions.

“All media organisations, including journalism colleges and departments, journalist unions and press clubs, must take suo moto cognisance of the accounts of survivors, institute inquiries and take appropriate action,” it said in a statement and encouraged more women to document their accounts without fear or inhibitions.

It also demanded that media organisations and journalism colleges should have policies to prevent sexual harassment at the workplace and set up properly constituted internal committees.

REACHING THE GOVERNMENT

After causing a storm in the film industry and singed newsrooms, the Metoo stories reached the Modi government with former editor and union minister M.J. Akbar being named for sexual harassment by nine journalists in the social media.

A day after journalist Priya Ramani levelled allegations against Akbar, who is a junior External Affairs Minister, another of his former colleagues Prerna Singh Bindra came up with charges of sexual harassment.

TURNING THE TIDE

The Telegraph, of which Akbar was the founding editor, had carried a story based on tweets by Ramani and another account by an unnamed writer in Firstpost, a news portal.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj did not answer media queries about allegations concerning Akbar. As reporters persisted with their questions and asked if there will be a probe, she walked past them without giving an answer.

BJP leaders spoke in different voices on the #MeToo campaign with women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi supporting it.

“There is a MeToo campaign that has started and I am very happy that it has started. And I hope that it doesn’t go out of control in the sense that we target people who offend us in some way,” she said.

“But on the whole I think the women are responsible, the anger in the sexual molestation never goes away,” she said, adding that one would always remember the person who did it.

“And this is why we have taken steps and written to the Law Ministry saying that the complains should be without any time limit.

“Please remember that you can now raise as we have interpreted it, complain about it 10 years later or 15 years later, it never matters how much later. If you are going to complain the avenue is still open,” she added.

Answering a question about allegations against a politician in the campaign, she said there should be an investigation.

“Those who are in positions of power always use it, whether it is film, media or industry. Whenever women make such allegations, we should take them very seriously,” she said.

However, BJP MP Udit Raj questioned why women were coming out with their stories ten years after the alleged incidents and dubbed it as the “beginning of wrong practice”.

“It must also be considered that it can ruin the public image of accused person,” the Bharatiya Janata Party (MP) from northwest Delhi said in a tweet.

Later answering a query about Akbar, he repeated his remarks about the damage to a person’s reputation if allegations turn out to be false.

Meanwhile, the Congress asked former Editor and Union Minister M.J. Akbar to either come clean following sexual harassment charges against him or resign. It also sought an independent probe into the charges against Akbar.

“Akbar has a stature as a journalist, apart from being a Minister. He should offer a satisfactory explanation either through a statement or personally, or resign forthwith,” Congress spokesperson S. Jaipal Reddy told the media here.

“How can he be in the Ministry with such serious allegations levelled by responsible journalists who have worked with him. Let there be an inquiry. We demand an inquiry against Akbar,” said Reddy.

There have been many voices critical of the #Metoo movement, saying there are risks about shaming people on social media without backing their claims with solid evidence. Many journalists say it will lead to a trial by media without the involvement of law enforcement authorities. With an outpouring of allegations on Twitter, women are facing intense backlash for speaking up years after an incident and not filing any complaints.

However, some women who have shared their stories claim they did go to their bosses, but no action was taken against the perpetrators. This social media crusade against sexual harassment says much about India’s legal system and its glacial speed.

Despite a fast track court, prominent editor Tarun Tejpal is out on bail five years after a case was filed against him. It is often difficult for women to take on powerful men and press charges. Tanushree’s case shows just how difficult it is to pursue a sexual harassment case.

She first made the allegations against Nana Patekar while they were working on a film in 2008. Ten years on, authorities are only now beginning to take interest. For the first time in India, men have partaken in the public shame otherwise thrust only on its women. Fear, a women’s shadow is now following the men too and they must learn to be accountable for their behaviour. And that is a victory of the #Metoo movement.