When Anurag Kashyap talked about MeToo movement: Maybe I've done this too
The filmmaker recalled the time when he did something similar without realising it counted as sexual misconduct
FollowFilmmaker Anurag Kashyap has been charged with rape in a police case in Mumbai on the complaint of an actor Payal Ghosh who had accused him of forcing himself on her in a tweet on Saturday.
Kashyap, who has dismissed her allegations as "baseless", has gained support from many in the film fraternity, including his ex-wife Kalki Koechlin.
A few years ago, when MeToo movement started growing Anurag Kashyap had to shut down his production company Phantom Films after one of his co-founders Vikas Bahl was caught in the storm.
A video was posted on Facebook by Anurag Kashyap on Brut India page saying, that he wants to be answerable for himself and not for things that he couldn't control.
"The whole MeToo movement in India started off and it was so strong, it was affecting change. And then, today, everybody talks about Rakhi Sawant who is just seeking attention and does nothing more than that. And everything goes astray and everybody stops bothering about it." Anurag said.
Anurag also recalled the time when he did something and didn't realise that he has done something wrong.
"We have to sit down and question ourselves before we question others. I was 18-19, sitting in a class when I saw a girl smoking, it was my conditioning that made me tell her 'Women should not smoke.' And that girl looked at me and scoffed at me and walked off. I'm like 'What did I say wrong?' When you read every single account, you feel like 'This seems familiar. Maybe I've done this too. Maybe this is how I was.' It's very honest to introspect because that's where the change will begin," Kashyap concluded.
He also revealed the limits of the Indian legal system during the hearing of the sexual harassment case filed against Vikas. The former employee who had accused Vikas Bahl of sexual harassment has decided to drop the case against him. She said that she will not file any legal affidavit against Vikas in court and doesn't want to escalate the issue further stating that she has had enough.
"The judge says that 'You have no right to be a crusader on behalf of somebody who doesn't want to file a complaint," Kashyap added.
