The #MeToo movement within the Indian Film Industry outgrew all expectations when Tanushree Dutta spoke up against Nana Patekar last year. She claimed that she had been sexually harassed by the actor on the sets of Horn Ok Pleassss back in 2008.
Even a video of her went massively viral on the internet which laid evidence of how Tanushree’s car had been attacked by a violent mob, allegedly consisting of Patekar fans. However, it’s been months, police investigations are still ongoing, and Tanushree is still fighting for justice.
Recently, Tanushree Dutta’s sister Ishita Dutta opened up about the incident and talked about how the movement has had a massive impact on women across the country.
Speaking to sources about the slow investigation and the viral video Ishita said, “I don’t know about the case, but I know about that day. Had they (police) not reached that minute, things would have got worse. Had it not been the cops, probably the car’s windshield would have broken.”
She went on to speak about how opening up about sexual harassment was a taboo even a decade back. Now with the kind of women’s movements happening across the world and on social media, it has become easier to speak up.
“We were all there and heard it. It was all in the media. Unfortunately, that time people didn’t really understand. Now, I think women have also taken it as a responsibility to speak up or support. A movement can’t happen with just one person. And not just women, a lot of male actors have come together to support this. They are now acknowledging that harassment is a serious issue. People are ready to listen. That’s what has changed.”
Ishita said how this incident didn’t stop Tanushree from motivating her to join the industry:
“A lot of women look up to her. They are so proud of her for speaking up and starting something which was so required.”
In fact, she revealed how she’s been lucky to never have experienced sexual harassment, but she knows a lot of her friends had and how it tends to leave the person scarred.
“It’s a very tragic and traumatising thing to happen”, she said.
While we are still waiting for the investigation to arrive at a conclusion and to see the victim receive justice, we are glad that Tanushree has triggered many women to speak up against sexual misconduct!