Sexual harassment, amongst other problems, is a social evil that cripples India like nothing does. In fact, if newspapers are anything to go by, the rate at which it is claiming victims is alarming. While it is mostly women who are at the receiving end of the heinous crime, it’d be a folly to ignore the assaults men go through, silently.
If you’d remember, days ago we spoke about the same when we told you that Riya Sen, in all nonchalance, sexually harassed her co-star, Nishant Malkani with a ‘casual’ pant-pulling on the sets of Ragini MMS Returns. While the incident was laughed off by the bystanders, including Nishant, it irked many like-minded people and rightly so, who then dared to call it out.
Well now, Nishant Malkani has come out in Riya’s defence, saying that the entire premise is baseless. According to DNA, he said,
“I was stunned with all the reports of Riya sexually harassing me. For God’s sake, I would know if I was sexually harassed. And I am man enough to own up to it if it happened. It is ridiculous to even suggest that Riya took advantage of me.”
The newbie then went to claim that the cry was nothing but a misdirected outrage. He even called the entire stint an improvisation.
That’s not it. Nishant also laid out that the media was irresponsible with the reporting. He said,
“Sexual harassment is a very serious matter. Please don’t trivialise it by using it for sensational headlines.
Man or woman, it is equally important to come forward if you are sexually harassed. And I don’t think my mardaangi would be challenged if I owned up to being harassed.”
While we can not stress more on the fact that sexual assaults and its media coverage should be dealt sensitively, nothing takes away from the fact that consent can be misguided too. If not persecute, the least we can do is not promote this behaviour. Rest, you’re wise enough!