Kangana Ranaut: I've Been Harassed By Actors On Sets But It Wouldn't Come Under #MeToo

Agencies
January 22, 2019

New Delhi, Jan 22: Kangana Ranaut says she was harassed several times by actors on film sets and while it wouldn't fall under #MeToo as it wasn't sexual, the experience was daunting and humiliating. The actor said harassment can happen on several levels and she has faced toxic behaviour from many people in her career. "Harassment happens on many levels. So many times on sets, I wasn't sexually harassed, but some people had ego issues. I was harassed on many other fronts. It wouldn't come under #MeToo but it was still harassment," Kangana told PTI.

The actor said the harassment ranged from making her wait for long hours to dubbing her voice without her consent. Talking about her harrowing experiences, Kangana said, "Making me wait on set for six hours, willingly giving me wrong call time to make me stand, always giving me the wrong set of dates so I'm missing out on opportunities and then cancelling the schedule last minute by these heroes."

"Ganging up on me and not inviting me to film events, launching trailers without me and then someone else dubbed for me without even telling me, which is violating the basic right of taking permission from an actor," she added.

The Queen star said because of the #MeToo movement, which hit India last year, men in the industry are scared. "People are scared, obviously and they should be. Men are scared in the industry. This isn't going to stop. This will continue till we really go into the root cause of it because essentially it's a patriarchal society which is extremely chauvinistic," she said.

"We need to come to a point where they are scared. All the talks of 'what if women lose work' should stop. I believe there's no life without dignity. You shouldn't worry about raising your voice," Kangana added.

The actor had come out in support of the survivor when allegations of sexual harassment were levelled against Queen director Vikas Bahl. Kangana, 31, said going forward strict rules and immediate action policy should be implemented to make film sets safer for women.

"On film sets there have to be strict rules and strict action should be taken. Things can't be solved on a personal level or behind closed doors. Things should be taken to authority and immediate action is the need of the hour. When anyone raises concern, people-director, producer or anyone-need to solve it. We need to become more sensitive about these things," she said.

Kangana will be next seen in Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi. The much ambitious period-drama features her in the titular role and has been directed by Krish and Kangana. The film releases on January 25.

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News Network
January 8,2020

New Delhi, Jan 8: Actor Kangana Ranaut on Wednesday applauded director Meghna Gulzar and actor Deepika Padukone for making 'Chhapaak', a film based on acid-attack victims.

Kangana's sister Rangoli Chandel who herself is an acid-attack survivor took to Twitter to share a video of the actor where she is seen extending thanks to Gulzar and Padukone for making a film on the important issue.

"I saw the trailer of the film 'Chhapaak' recently, and after watching it I was reminded of the incident of acid attack on my sister Rangoli. Today, I and my family thank Meghna Gulzar and Deepika (Padukone) that they made a film on this issue. This will give courage to those people who gave up on their life after struggling with it," said Ranaut in the video.

"This film has placed a tight slap on the face of those monsters who succeeded in their act but not in their will. With this film, all those faces will glow that have been spoiled and their courage was broken by these monsters and the beauty of their spirit," the 'Panga' actor said.

Congratulating the team of the film, Kangana added, "I wish that with this New Year the sale of acid gets prohibited so that this country becomes free of acid-attacks. In the end many many congratulations to the team 'Chhapaak'."

The movie is based on the real-life acid attack survivor of Laxmi, who at the age of 15, was attacked allegedly by a spurned lover in 2005. Laxmi had to undergo several surgeries. Later, she took up the job of helping acid attack survivors and promoted campaigns to stop such attacks.

'Chhapaak' is being helmed by Meghna Gulzar and is being co-produced by Deepika and Fox Star Studios. The movie is set to hit theatres on January 10, 2020.

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Agencies
January 9,2020

Mumbai, Jan 9: A day after Deepika Padukone visited the JNU campus to express solidarity with students who had been attacked, her film "Chhapaak" made another splash on Wednesday over the name of its antagonist.

While Deepika was the focus of many a discussion on social media and beyond for showing up at a public meeting in the university, the film, based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, was also making news for quite another reason.

In what could well be a storm in a 'Twitter cup', "Nadeem Khan" and "Rajesh" began trending on the microblogging site after a magazine article claimed the name of the antagonist had been changed. By 4 pm, 'Nadeem Khan' clocked close to 60,000 tweets and 'Rajesh' close behind with 50,000.

In 2005, Laxmi was disfigured for life when a man called Nadeem Khan and three others allegedly hurled acid at her in Delhi's upscale Khan Market.

In the film based on her life, the narrative remains the same but the names have been changed. So, Laxmi is 'Malti' Agarwal and Nadeem becomes 'Babboo' aka 'Bashir Khan'.

On Wednesday, Swarajya magazine wrote an article headlined, "The Ways Of Bollywood: In Deepika Padukone-Starer Chhapaak, Acid Attacker Naeem Khan Becomes ‘Rajesh'." "As part of a backlash against Padukone's JNU 'meet and greet', social media users researched the names of the characters involved in the movie Chhapaak and conspicuously found the name of main perpetrator Naeem Khan absent," the article alleged.

But in the Meghna Gulzar directed film, there is no mention of any Nadeem or Naeem Khan. Moreover, Rajesh is the name of Malti's boyfriend.

Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Babul Supriyo jumped into the controversy, saying it was another example of "absolute hypocrisy".

"...When you say all characters are fictitious and don't have any resemblance with living beings and all of that, this is absolute hypocrisy. When you change the name which also changes the religion, it has been done very deliberately," Supriyo told a TV channel when asked to comment on the controversy.

South Delhi BJP MP Ramesh Biduri also called for a boycott of the movie.

With Deepika grabbing attention by going to JNU, many appreciated her 'silent solidarity' but others criticised her for "supporting the Leftists" and said it was a promotional stunt ahead of the release.

"#BoycottChhapaak" was trending on Twitter as was "#ISupportDeepika".

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News Network
May 1,2020

May 1: Rubbishing reports of hospitalisation, veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah on Thursday said he was "fine" and at home observing the nationwide lockdown.

Shah, 69, in a Facebook post, thanked people for their concern and reassured them about his health.

"I thank all those enquiring after my health and reassure them I am fine," he said.

"I'm at home and observing the lockdown. Please don't believe any rumours," he added.

"A Wednesday" actor's younger son Vivaan Shah also dismissed rumours about his father's health.

"He's alright. These are just rumours," Vivaan said.

Reports about Shah's health started surfacing on social media as the industry was coming to terms with the deaths of Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor.

Rishi Kapoor, aged 67, died on Thursday in a hospital here after a two year-long battle with lukaemia, while Irrfan, 54, passed away on Wednesday due to neuroendocrine tumour, a rare form of cancer.

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