After several attempts to bring the #MeToo movement to India, it’s Tanushree Dutta‘s reminder about the allegations she had raised against Nana Patekar, that has opened the floodgates. Women from various works of life are now sharing their stories of harassment on social media, with one of the biggest ones being that of Vikas Bahl. However, when Kangana Ranaut raised her voice in support of the survivors, she received backlash from an unexpected source.
According to India Today, after Huffpost broke the story about the allegations against Vikas Bahl, Kangana opened up about the ‘Queen’ director’s on-set behaviour. She said,
“I often told him off. He was scared of me but still every time we met, socially greeted and hugged each other, he’d bury his face in my neck and hold me really tight and breathe in the smell of my hair. It took me great amount of strength and effort to pull myself out of his embrace. He’d say, ‘I love how you smell K’.”
Kangana further added that she believes the girl’s allegations against Bahl and that her support for her has even cost her a script, which she didn’t mind losing. That said, she has called out everyone for not slamming Bahl when the news came into light.
Within hours of Kangana’s revelation, Sonam Kapoor spoke about the #MeToo movement at the Vogue We the Women summit in Bengaluru and lauded Tanushree’s courage to step up. However, her feelings for Kangana’s story was quite hostile. She said,
@sonamakapoor on Bollywood's #MeToo movement at #WeTheWomen #Bengaluru pic.twitter.com/8Oohi3vyNi
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) October 7, 2018
“I think Kangana wrote something. Kangana is obviously Kangana Ranaut. She says a lot of stuff and sometimes is hard to take her seriously. I love the fact that she has spunk and she says what she believes.”
Sonam further added that,
“I really respect (her) for that. I don’t know him, I don’t know the situation. If what is written is true, then it’s disgusting and awful. If it’s true, then they should be punished for it.”
While Sonam did speak up in support of the victims saying “even if it is one person saying something, it makes a difference.”, she drew a lot of flak from Kangana. She said in an interview,
“What does she mean by saying, ‘it’s hard to believe Kangana’? When I am sharing my Me Too story, who gives her a right to judge me? So, Sonam Kapoor has the license of trusting some women and some she won’t. What makes her so unsure of my claims?”
Kangana, who’s famously talked against nepotism, further berated Sonam by saying that she’s not known for being an actress, nor a good speaker. And while saying that she’ll demolish any “filmy people” who takes digs at her, Kangana said,
“I am known to be an articulate person and I have represented my country in many international summits. I am called as a thought and youth influencer to these summits, I am not known because of my dad I have earned my place and credibility after struggling for a decade.”
This is a time where we as a society should stand together to weed out the people who’ve tarnished it with their influence. And to do that, icons like Sonam and Kangana should keep their personal differences aside for the time and work towards a better future.