Shatrughan Sinha on #MeToo damage control, says 'it was all in good humour'

Veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha recently opened up about his views on the #MeToo movement. He said that he is fortunate that his name has not come out in the #MeToo movement despite everything that he has done. However, his comments didn’t go down well with the netizens and he received a severe backlash on social media. A few also advised him to stay ‘khamosh’ (his signature dialogue).

Now, the 72-year-old actor has defended himself in an interaction with the press. "Men are afraid to open their mouths in front of women. Pataa nahin kya bolne se kya matlab nikala jayega. I spoke in good humour about the fear of being called out, that all of us in the entertainment industry are staring at, and look at the way the nari protection brigade is out to prove me a lecher," IANS quoted him as saying.

Shatrughan Sinha added that his household is dominated by two strong women figures - his wife Poonam Sinha and daughter Sonakshi. "I speak with the highest regard for all women, and stand by their right to be treated with dignity and respect. Don't forget I've two powerful women, my wife Poonam and my daughter Sonakshi at home. My sons Luv and Kush and I happily let them be the boss of our home," he said, reported IANS.

He further said, "Of course I am fortunate that I haven't been called out. I am a very friendly person, have always been warm and talkative, and I used to flirt harmlessly with my heroines before I got married. They never seem to mind my innocuous flirting. But now how am I supposed to be sure that some lady won't come forward to say she objected to my behaviour 30-40 years ago but couldn't come forward to speak as I was too powerful?"

He also came out in support of filmmakers like Subhash Ghai and Rajkumar Hirani and said "Names like Subhash Ghai and Rajkumar Hirani are being called out without substantiated evidence. Men who have toiled for years to build a reputation for themselves are losing it over a tweet. So of course I stand by what I said."

In his earlier comments, which sparked massive social media outrage, the actor-politician had said, "Today is the time of #MeToo, and there shouldn't be any shame or hesitation to say that behind a successful man's fall is a woman. Behind the troubles and infamy of successful men, there have been mostly women that I've seen in this movement."

(With inputs from IANS)