Kangana Ranaut wants more women to come out and openly talk about sexual harassment, especially at the workplace. While not directly commenting on the charges of molestation against director Vikas Bahl, who directed her super-hit Queen, Kangana did say that the woman who spoke out is courageous, and that more women will need to do likewise.
Recently, Vikas, who co-founded Phantom Films with Vikramidtya Motwane, Anurag Kashyap and Madhu Mantena, was accused by a female colleague of sexual harassment. According a report in Mumbai Mirror, the team was heading to Goa for a holiday when Bahl allegedly molested the person. Soon the matter was brought to the notice of Reliance Entertainment, which owns 50 percent of Phantom Films. A committee as per Vishakha guidelines was set up.
Indian Express reports that Vikas has been asked to step down. In fact, the director has not been attending office since March 28 but reports suggest that he is away from work as his mother is ill. Meanwhile, Vikas had denied the claim, saying the woman was a friend and she hadn’t felt uncomfortable to be around him – an ever so slight tenuous claim to innocence.
Kangana was asked her views about the charges, while at a fashion event organised by Lifestyle. A report in the Indian Express, quotes her saying, “It’s a very serious issue. I can only say that it is very courageous of a woman to come out and speak about sexual harassment. It’s not regarding this particular event, because I am not the party involved, but generally speaking, women who face this should be encouraged to talk about it by their families and their colleagues without feeling ashamed about it.”
Recommended
Kangana believes talking up, and aloud, will help bring the issue to light. “More women should come out and talk about whatever they feel because that’s how there will be awareness about these issues and of course, there will always be another side of the story as well and then there will be the authorities, who can decide what is the right thing to do. But people should speak up about whatever they feel, whether they are right or wrong, they must speak up and discuss,” she said.