Kangana Ranaut on Bollywood actor molestation case: Backlash she is receiving is upsetting
Written by Priyanka Sharma | Mumbai | Published: December 14, 2017 8:36 am ..
Written by Priyanka Sharma | Mumbai | Published: December 14, 2017 8:36 am Kangana Ranaut said it is brave of this actor to share her tale of harassment.
Coming down heavily on the trolls against the Bollywood teenage actor, who was recently molested on a flight, actor Kangana Ranaut says it’s a scary environment when instead of lauding a girl for speaking up, people are judging and questioning her.
Since the day, this teenage actor alleged molestation on a flight, while there has been an enormous amount of support from sections of public and her colleagues from the industry, there has also been a constant criticism against her reaction to the apparent incident and doubts have been raised at the authenticity of her claims.
The actor, in a series of Instagram stories, last week alleged that she was molested by a man sitting behind her on board a Delhi-Mumbai flight. The actor said that the accused had kept his foot on her arm-rest and rubbed his foot against her back and neck while she was half-asleep. The man’s wife later told reporters his leg accidentally touched the actor, for which he apologised to her. According to aviation sources, the actor had screamed at the man and asked him to put his foot down.
It was after landing that she shared the alleged incident with her Instagram followers. A lot of men and women have trolled her for not reacting “strongly” enough in the flight itself at the time of the alleged incident, saying that if she had the time and courage to share about the harassment in an Instagram post, she should have been strong enough to give back to the accused. There are also those who termed the case a publicity stunt by the 17-year-old actor, who is currently among the popular names in the Hindi film industry.
This constant questioning has upset Kangana. The actor, at an event on Wednesday evening, said it is important to understand that it is up to the person at the receiving end of the action of an alleged abuser to interpret that action, and no other person can label the kind of harassment the affected would have gone through.
“I want to bring to your notice this young girl, who has spoken about this harassment that she faced in a flight. But look at the backlash she is getting. It is so upsetting. I mean there are witnesses, who are claiming that the innocent man just happened to put his foot on the arm-rest and that’s the only crime that the person committed. If anyone is going to put foot on my arm-rest, it’s open to interpretation, that if this is emotional or sexual harassment or personal because you are in my intimate space and I will interpret it. Your fellow passengers can’t tell me that his innocent leg was resting,” Kangana told journalist Barkha Dutt at the launch of author Shobha De’s new book “70 and to hell with it”.
The Simran actor added it is brave of this actor to share her tale of harassment, something that a female star is asked not to talk about so as to not get associated with something “dark”.
“A young girl decides to step up and say that she has been harassed, there are so many things like your own parents, people who wish you well and your management companies, they tend to tell you, ‘Don’t associate yourself with something dark. You are the girl, who wants this brand, that brand, who wants this and that film.’ For that young girl to go against all of that and speak up. Now, I am not in that position so I don’t know what kind of harassment it was. But everyone agrees on one thing that the foot was on her arm-rest. This is wrong. It is very wrong. Why are we judging and trolling her? In this kind of environment, which is so frightening, who will speak up?”
According to Kangana, had she been in place of this teenage star, she would have broken the man’s leg for even placing his leg on her armrest.
“Most people saying that he was just keeping his foot on the armrest, taking an innocent nap. For me, it is highly offensive. I would have broken his leg. So, I think it is arguable. I am not dissecting or jumping to the conclusion and no one should play judge whether it is me or media or social media,” she said.
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