Tanushree-Nana Case: Why Speaking Up Against Harassment is Tough

Why is it that we appreciate #MeToo in USA, but choose to ignore incidents like that of Tanushree Dutta’s in India?

Photo: The Quint

Video Editor: Sandeep Suman & Vishal Kumar

Newspapers, television, the internet... Tanushree Dutta is suddenly making headlines. The reason is the allegations of sexual harassment she has levelled against Nana Patekar.

It’s s good that this is being talked about, that people are trying to understand the issue. This is the #MeToo era. It's the same #MeToo campaign which took down American film producer Harvey Weinstein.

Women across the world came forward to share their stories of sexual harassment, which made some people very uncomfortable. But that discomfort doesn't hold a candle to what the these women faced when they were harassed or assaulted.

After several cases of sexual harassment came forward against Weinstein, many women came forward with their stories as a part of #MeToo and their voice gained support from many across the world. Many well-known actors came forward claiming that Weinstein had harassed them.

But why is that we appreciate campaigns like #MeToo from a distance, but choose to ignore an incident like that of Tanushree Dutta’s?

In an interview, Tanushree Dutta recounted an incident from 10 years ago, levelling serious allegations against Nana Patekar. According to Tanushree, Patekar wanted to touch her inappropriately while filming an item song on the sets of the movie ‘Horn Ok Pleassss’.

Why is a campaign like #MeToo unsuccessful in our country?

Society’s Mentality

Our society is going digital. We wish to develop at a lightning speed, but our mindset is still constricted. Let's take the example of Tanushree Dutta. A few supported her but the incident also revealed the mindset of those who seem to have no respect for women.

See some examples of Bollywood stars here-

• Shakti Kapoor- “I was a kid 10 years back.”
• Amitabh Bachchan- “Neither am I Tanushree nor Nana Patekar.”
• Salman Khan- “I am not aware of this. Let me first understand what happened.”
• Rakhi Sawant- “ Were you in a coma for 10 years?”

When women see such statements, their strength to seek justice diminishes.

Political Connections

People often decide about supporting someone by taking into account their public standing. That's what happened with Nana Patekar in the Tanushree Dutta case. People give him the benefit of the doubt by lauding his acting skills, citing his identity as a Marathi, talking about his proximity to the MNS or by discussing his work for the cause of the farmers. People don’t see the seriousness of the charges levelled against the person they are supporting.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut commented on the matter, saying “Nana Patekar is not just a Marathi actor but also a big national actor. I know him well and I think we should listen to his side too”.

But being a good actor is not a guarantee for being a good person, nor is having good personal-political connections a valid reason to give an accused a clean chit. But in our country, we prioritise the status of the accused over the accusation, and then, the status of the complainant.

Indian Women’s Access to Social Media

A 2016 report by ActionAid UK reveals that 73 percent of women in India face some kind of harassment at public places.

Campaigns like #MeToo encouraged women to speak out using social media. But only 30 percent of Internet users are women. These days, big discussions and mindsets are judged on social media. If women don’t get an appropriate platform to voice their concern, people will take advantage of the fact and hijack social media. They will claim that Tanushree and other women’s concerns are not very important, and that the accused is innocent.

Not everything is so negative. Women are gradually coming out, mustering courage and voicing the injustice against them. Perhaps, there is a ray of hope.