MAMI: #MeToo Takes Centre Stage With Renuka Shahane, Kabir Khan

MAMI panel discussion on how to take the #MeToo movement ahead.

The panel comprised of (From L to R) Anjali Menon, Renuka Shahane, Ruchi Narain, Shonali Bose and Kabir Khan.

(Photo courtesy: Tejinder Singh)

The Mumbai Film Festival (MAMI) is known to present a buffet of some of the best films from across the world and from India. But this year, in wake of the several sexual harassment allegations and the rise of the #MeToo movement, certain films have been taken off the festival’s schedule. These include the short film Bebaak because Anurag Kashyap served as a producer on it and Rajat Kapoor’s Kadakh. The annual MAMI Movie Mela which runs parallel to the festival hosting workshops and interviews with actors has also been cancelled this year.

On the first day of the festival, a panel discussion was held on the way forward for Bollywood to make the workplace safer with the emphasis being on culture and content. The speakers were filmmaker Kabir Khan, Shonali Bose and Anjali Menon, actor Renuka Shahane were joined by Malayalam actors Padmapriya and Parvathy. The session was moderated by Ruchi Narain.

Kicking off the discussion Renuka emphasised on the need to be able to distinguish between the artist and the person. She said it was irrelevant how talented someone might be.

You could be very talented, do a lot of social work but still be a deeply misogynistic person. His behaviour towards women or anyone for that matter could be atrocious. 

Renuka Shahane, Actor

Last year, when a female actor from the Malayalam film industry was sexually assaulted on the instruction of a leading male star, many women from the industry came together and formed the Women in Cinema Collective. Ruchi told Parvathy and Anjali Menon how that was a model the Hindi film industry could actually emulate.

A lot of us don’t get any work because we chose to speak up, but someone had to take a stand and we have regrets. 

Parvathy

Culture and content were the two main areas of discussion.(Photo courtesy: Tejinder Singh)

Ruchi Narain also joked about how several male filmmakers had cited ‘not in town’ as an excuse to not attend the session.

Kabir, since we are always asked how it likes to be woman film-maker, what does it feel like to be a male film-maker here?

Ruchi Narain, film-maker

Kabir said that he was quite shocked that it would seem like an anomaly and it should in fact be the norm.

It’s sad that I’m being applauded for something that should be so normal. But I have to say that in a way we have all been complacent. One has heard hushed whispers about most of the people who have been named. But I don’t think I’m going to do that anymore. Anyone on my set should be able to approach me even if they’re feeling slightly uncomfortable about something.

Kabir Khan, film-maker

The discussion then moved towards content in cinema and how our narratives treat women and the impact it has on us.

My interest is also in how masculinity is portrayed, not just how women are portrayed. In my first film <i>Amu t</i>he male lead was a very sensitive, progressive man, not macho in the typical sense. Or even in <i>Margarita With a Straw, </i>I got flak for the film because at certain festivals they said this is not a typical man because how can he be at the backseat for so many major decisions of the home? And I was outraged by that. That character also cried in his bisexual daughter’s arms, because men can be vulnerable and sensitive.

Shonali Bose

Kabir Khan spoke about being more conscious of the narratives he will be creating. (Photo courtesy: Tejinder Singh)

The panel reached a consensus that there had to be an all-round change. Along with making the workplace safer, the content also needed to come from a more responsible space. Ruchi Narain summed it up,

This is a time of flux, and we may not have all the policies in place, especially when it comes to films shutting down. Many livelihoods are affected for sure, but this is the beginning and there will be some collateral damage but is the start of something very crucial and important.&nbsp;

Ruchi Narain, film-maker