#MeToo India: IFTDA Sends Showcause Notice To Director Vikas Bahl

Director Vikas Bahl, who was recently accused of sexual assault, has been served a showcause notice by the Indian Film and Television Director’s Association. If Bahl fails to respond within a week’s time, his membership will be cancelled.

A spokesperson for the IFTDA told Silverscreen, “We have received troubling news regarding the allegations against Vikas Bahl. We have served him with a notice and he has to respond within a week. If he does not respond, we can and will remove him from our association.”

The revelations from the ongoing #MeToo movement have rocked the film industry. Many media organisations have responded to the movement by launching detailed inquiries into the allegations.

Mumbai Academy Of Moving Image, popularly known as MAMI, has decided to drop two films from the line-up of its upcoming film festival. Rajat Kapoor starrer Kadakh and All India Bakchod-financed Chintu Ka Birthday will no longer be screened.

Rajat has been deeply implicated in revelations from the ongoing #MeToo movement. The actor was accused of sexual misconduct by many women on social media. Stand-up comic Utsav Chakraborty and AIB’s Gursimran Khamba also faced allegations of sexual harassment.

Film critic Anupama Chopra, in a detailed statement, said that MAMI fully supported the #MeToo movement and the decision to drop the two films was taken as a way to address the issue of workplace harassment in the industry.

“We as an Academy (MAMI) strongly support the #MeToo movement. In the light of recent developments, we have decided to drop the following films from out line up – AIB’s Chintu Ka Birthday and Rajat Kapoor’s Kadakh. We want to use this opportunity to open up the conversation, and find solutions to harassment and sexual misconduct in the workplace. Starting with this edition of the festival, we would like to unite the community to find positive and constructive ways to deal with it,” read the statement issued by MAMI on Twitter:

Stand-up comedian Mallika Dua posted a tweet in which she said: “We have to find a way to punish powerful men for their toxic behaviour without punishing the hundreds of people whose livelihoods depend upon them.” The tweet has been deleted now.

 

Allegations levelled against senior journalists KR Sreenivas, Prashant Jha and Mayank Jain have led to their respective media organisations forming independent committees to probe the issue. KR Sreenivas has been placed on administrative leave by The Times of India, while Jha has stepped down from his role as Political Bureau Chief of Hindustan Times.

Gautham Adhikari, a former DNA editor, was also named as part of the #MeToo movement. He has since resigned from his position in a US-based think tank.

AIB’s Tanmay Bhatt (who knew about the sexual harassment allegations against Utsav Chakraborty but did not address them) and Gursimran Khamba (who was accused of harassment by a former partner) have been forced to walk away from the comedy group they helped found. Their show on Hotstar, On Air With AIB, has also been cancelled.