The actor speaks up against harassment of any nature.
Nearly two weeks back, former model and actor Tanushree Dutta accused veteran actor Nana Patekar of sexual misconduct and harassment that took place on a film’s set. This paved way for other women to speak up on the issue and share their experiences.
It has led to an avalanche of names from within the industry who have apparently harassed their colleagues at some point in their careers.
Some of them include director Vikas Bahl, ace actor Alok Nath, director Sajid Khan, music director Anu Malik and singer Kailash Kher while celebrity hair stylist Sapna Bhavnani has pointed fingers at Amitabh Bachchan without revealing anything as yet.
After women such as Tanushree, Kangana Ranaut and others, who have broken silence and revealed their stories under the hashtag #MeToo, actor and producer Saif Ali Khan has chosen to break silence on the subject as well. The actor, who is gearing up for the release of his next, Baazaar, recently shared that he too was harassed 25 years ago during the initial days of his career and is still angry about it.
“I have also been harassed in my career, not sexually, but I have been harassed 25 years ago and I am still angry about it,” the Omkara actor revealed to The Indian Express. “Most people don’t understand other people. It is very difficult to understand other people’s pain. I don’t want to talk about it… Even when I think about what happened with me I still get angry. Today, we have to look after women. People are offended and they want justice. What is happening is good and it gives you a sense that something is happening. #MeToo is a good start because people will now think 20 times before misbehaving.”
When asked about Sajid Khan, who has been accused of inappropriate behavior and sexual misconduct by Bipasha Basu and Esha Gupta while shooting Humshakals that Saif was also a part of, the actor responded: “I don’t remember anything like this happening genuinely because if it would have happened I would not have been comfortable in that environment or allowed it to happen in front of me.”
“I would hate an atmosphere where women are being looked down upon or mistreated in any way,” the actor added. “I don’t think that’s how an atmosphere should be,” adding “I don’t want to work with those who have been accused of sexual misconduct. We have to understand how these people are behaving; it is not okay. It is disgusting.”
Saif Ali Khan appeared in the first season of Netflix’ Sacred Games and while season two was announced sometime back, it has been put on hold in the wake of #MeToo movement in India.
As co-writer of the production, Varun Grover was accused of harassing a woman, the streaming giant said in a statement: “At this time, we are evaluating options on the path forward.”
