Aamir Khan Productions is to withdraw from a film where one of the filmmakers is accused of harassment in a 2014 case that is currently sub-judice.
Friday, October 12, 2018
Bollywood’s Expanding #MeToo Movement Hits Productions
Aamir Khan Productions is to withdraw from a film where one of the filmmakers is accused of harassment in a 2014 case that is currently sub-judice.
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I was VERY excited to read this headline. Growing up in a family of Indian descent - we watched a few too many Bollywood movies. They always seemed to fun and exciting to me when I was younger, but as I grew up I learned more and more about the actual reality of life in India. I learned more about their gender inequality issues and the life behind child brides. I grew to realize how different Bollywood movies were from actual Indian life (not that I thought they all just danced and sung all day, but I didn't realize all of the issues). It makes me very happy to read that the #metoo movement has made it to India and that the Bollywood community is actually making changes and supporting the movement. This gives me a lot of hope for the future of India. If they can make a difference in the industry, surely the state of their society's future has a chance to get better.
It’s super interesting to think about how global the #MeToo has become. In my head, this brand of 4th wave feminism is an American construction. I guess that was always my assumption due to the domination of American media and the fact that the USA dominates the movie industry. But to think about how other countries and entertainment industries have been affected by the #MeToo movement has never crossed my mind before. It makes sense, of course. Sexism is widespread and harassment has existed since the dawn of time. But I never put two and two together. I’m glad Bollywood is bringing these issues to light. I hope Hollywood can give their counterpart the support they need to start a movement in the same way we have (sort of). Not that Hollywood is a shining example of positive change, but it’s getting there. And day by day things are getting better. Hopefully the same things happen for Bollywood.
I think this is a very heartening article, and one of the things that I appreciate most about it is that it shows the steps that are being taken, or have already happened, to combat sexual harassment within the Bollywood industry. I would have liked to have read more, however, especially as this is such a topical piece in modern entertainment news, and even more so because it shows that #MeToo is expanding beyond the U.S. and is forcing every facet of the entertainment industry to take a long, hard look at what’s behind their work-place culture. Unlike some Western articles written on the same subject, I found the decisive reporting of the aftermath of these accusations to be heartening: the Producers withdrew from a film because one of the filmmakers is currently under accusations, an entire company dissolved due to allegations brought against one of its founders, etc. Given these extreme (and justified) measures brought against those accused of sexual assault, it does give me a little hope that even those mentioned at the end, who denied the allegations or simply apologized on Twitter, will be brought to charge by the special committee that The Producer’s Guild of India is forming to examine these issues. This is not just a United States’ issue, and it’s not that harassment is just happening more now than ever before. It’s always been happening. Sadly, it has taken until now for the rest of society to learn about it, but now that it has started, it will not be silenced.
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