Can #MeToo movement bring an end to sexual misconduct and harassment?

Is an apology enough? Can an apology completely erase the pain and depression caused by an incident driven by moments of madness? Can an apology heal the mental disturbance caused by it? #MeToo movement is a great old initiative now making rounds in India and thankfully it has worked for good, as many popular faces and young guns are now able to come forward and share the horror incidents that are marked as a dark spot in their lives. Why rapes and sexual harassments against women are happening where goddesses are worshipped as 'Maa Durga, Laxmi, Saraswati', etc. And the popular faces who are involved in the charges and allegstions are neither illiterate or uneducated.

The #MeToo movement started as a hashtag on Twitter in the year 2017 after popular Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexual harassment and assault by over 70 women. And now after 11 good years, India too is caught up in the stormy winds of the #MeToo movement and Tanushree Dutta recently reignited the movement with her allegations against the famous face of Bollywood – Nana Patekar –of sexually harassing her on the sets of Horn Ok Pleassss where the actress was supposed to be a part of an item number.

Tanushree Dutta was brave enough to raise her voice against a powerful figure in the film industry, but at that time no one came to her support. No action was taken against Nana Patekar at that time. And now in 2018, when Dutta recently recalled the incident, the #MeToo movement suddenly caught fire among many and the campaign created a sense of panic in the industry. The fire of #MeToo not only hit Bollywood, but also spread among politicians, journalists, comedians and sportspersons among others. And what followed was complete havoc!

ALSO READ: Amid strengthening #MeToo Movement, young girls suffer silently

Big Names that are stained by #MeToo Movement

Vikas Bahl: After Alok Nath, it was the turn of Vikas Bahl, a producer, screenwriter, and director who was accused of sexually harassing a female employee of Phantom Films. As per the female employee, Vikas dropped her to her hotel room and harassed her in an inebriated state. The Indian Film and Television Directors’ Association has now issued a show-cause notice to Vikas Bahl.

Rajat Kapoor: Another popular face of Bollywood, Rajat Kapoor has also been accused of sexual misconduct by several women on Twitter. A journalist recently revealed that he had asked her uncomfortable questions, while other accused him of calling her constantly for co-actor Saurabh Shukla’s phone. However, Rajat Kapoor later apologised for his actions.

Kailash Kher: Extremely popular face or voice in the Hindi film industry on whom allegations of sexual harassment have been put is Kailash Kher. First, it was a journalist who came forward with her story and alleged that the singer touched her inappropriately when she went to interview him. Singer Sonam Mohapatra followed with allegations of Kher harassing her on multiple occasions. Kailash Kher later apologised.

Chinmayi Sripada: Singer Chinmayi Sripada accused Vairamuthu of making her feel uncomfortable and threatening her of destroying her career should she fail to cooperate. Vairamuthu denied the charges and what followed was other women accusing him of sexual assault. Chinmayi also became a voice of an anonymous woman, who accused popular Sri Lankan cricketer Lasith Malinga of sexually assaulting her in a hotel room in Mumbai.

Malinga: And Malinga is not only the sole Sri Lankan cricketer of being accused of sexual misconduct. Earlier, former Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga have also faced allegations of him sexually harassing a woman.

Raghu Dixit: Chinmayi had also voiced a story of an aspiring singer and revealed how Raghu Dixit forcefully tried to kiss her in a studio while she came for a song recording and asked her to sit on his lap during a meeting. Raghu Dixit released an apology statement.

Abhijeet Bhattacharya: The singer recently said, “Most of the fat and ugly girls are blaming and I wasn’t born at that time.” But why? Because a flight attendant has alleged that she was sexually harassed by him in a Kolkata pub.

Varun Grover: Actor, screenwriter, and lyricist also faced an accusation of harassing a woman during a play rehearsal but he denied the charges.

But the question remains the same, is an apology enough? Why are the popular faces, who receive the love and passion from their fans stoop so low to do something which is not needed at all? They should be the role models for the youth, not some talented personalities who are known for their heinous acts. This needs to be changed and more people should be brave enough to follow the trail of #MeToo movement.