After facing backlash over a recent comment on the #MeToo movement, actor Mukesh Khanna on Sunday posted a video on social media and stated: “I am not against women working”.
A video clip, the actor, who is best known for playing the titular super hero Shaktimaan on television, had said that the #MeToo movement was a result of women going out to work. The video went viral on social media this weekend.
In an interview shared by Twitter handle ‘Hindutva Watch’ and later shared by many others, the actor had said: “The work of women is to manage the household. The problem of #MeToo began when women started working. Today, women talk about walking shoulder to shoulder with men.”
Khanna said on Sunday that the video was taken out of context “to malign” him. Posting the video of the full interview, he wrote: “As I said let me show you my full interview taken by someone from which this “Vivadit Bayan” has been taken to malign me that I mean “ This”which I don’t mean. I was just commenting on how Me too can happen. You can see yourself in this interview how I respect women.”
A number of singers, actors and comedians called him out on Twitter for his misogynistic comment.
Playback singer Chinmayi Sripada, who has been spearheading the #MeToo movement in Tamil Nadu, wrote: “Ayya…. Actor Mukesh Khanna said #MeToo 
was because women started working. Not because men couldn’t control their hands remote controlled by their genitals and violence. Ok, Uncle.” “Honestly – I am getting tired of some people who are at a particular mental age. They wont change, not see sense, won’t learn, neither will they keep their toxicity to themselves. Thalaiezhuthu. I wonder if one should even invest any time in explaining,” she added.
Sharing Chinmai’s tweet, actor Radhika Sarathkumar wrote: “So true, their stupidity is appalling. Worst is getting away with it
”
So true, their stupidity is appalling. Worst is getting away with it😡 https://t.co/KHEv0NQAAB
— Radikaa Sarathkumar (@realradikaa) November 1, 2020
Slamming Khanna’s comment, television serial actor Divyanka Tripathi Dahiya tweeted: “How regressive & outdated is that! It’s cringeworthy when people at respectable positions make such remarks. Misogyny may be a result of a traumatic memory or past. That’s the only benefit of doubt I can think of. With due respect – I condemn this statement of Mukesh ji!”
Comedians Sahil Shah and content creator Andre Borges called out the actor and shared the video clip of the interview on Twitter.
Didn't know that Shaktiman's biggest weakness was his mindset. https://t.co/zQ1tcPMVZl
— Sahil Shah 🇮🇳 (@SahilBulla) October 30, 2020
“You either die a hero or see yourself live long enough to become the villain” https://t.co/MIMNaaybDs
— Andre Borges (@borges) October 30, 2020
