Lot of shame attached to #MeToo in India: Sonam Kapoor

Bollywood actor Sonam Kapoor has said in India there is a lot of shame attached in speaking up about facing harassment.

“Unfortunately in India, there’s a lot of shame attached to it. If something happens to you, you just smile and pretend to be dumb,” the actor responded when asked whether something close to #MeToo and #TimesUp campaigns is happening in India.

“You just ignore it, pretend it didn’t happen because if you speak about it, you will get into more trouble. You are conditioned to think that way. It becomes a blemish on you,” she added while speaking to the Indian Express.

Recalling the time when she spoke up about being molested, the actor said, “I remember when I spoke about what happened to me when I had gone to a theatre to watch a Raveena Tandon film. A man came behind me and molested me. And people said that’s not molestation. This is harassment.”

She continued, “And somebody from my team said that why are you speaking about this, your movie is coming out.”

Highlight the double standards in the country, Sonam said, “It’s shocking. Such a contradiction in our country. You want to watch songs where women are gyrating to lyrics which are so suggestive, and at the same time wearing salwar kameez and doing puja.

Lamenting that she does not see a shift in attitude any time soon, she added, “We are hard pressed for stories, for roles. There is no equal pay. And I am not even talking about actresses.”

Stating that “people hold these perceived notions about women,” Sonam said, “I was talking to someone, this person asked for my help. He said I am trying to hire a person — there are two people, a guy, and a girl, who is just married. She is better but she may get pregnant. And she won’t be able to work properly. This is how we still think.”

The actor further added, “Our conditioning is so deep and entrenched. If someone teased you at school, would you tell anybody? You will keep it to yourself. This mindset has to change.”