#MeToo: It took billion Indians' anger to wake up Bollywood
What's the story
This, right now, is modern India's biggest watershed moment. In this patriarchal society, for far too long, far too many women were silent. But, not anymore. The survivors have become warriors, and there's no stopping them. They don't want your support, they don't need your nudge, and they certainly are not looking for your sympathy. Empathy may be, but not sympathy. In times like these, one wonders - how has suddenly Bollywood woken up from its slumber?
Oh, you bet
Skeletons in every closet, closets in every production house
Believe me you, the dark underbelly of Bollywood was never a secret. At some level, we all were aware of their misogynistic ways - the pay parity is huge, their A-listers objectify women, pelvic thrusts are considered cool, rape jokes are funny for them. And so on, and so forth. But one could never fathom the depth of ugliness, or the extent of criminality. We knew there were skeletons, we didn't know that skeletons are all they have.
Hypocrisy
When we wanted them to speak, they didn't
This brings us to the pertinent point - why were they silent for all these years? But, wait a second, this is a rhetorical question. They were silent because it is bad for business. When millions invested emotions in them, they did business with those emotions. SRK speaks about women's rights only in the UK, closer home he would ignore or even shield the Karim Moranis of the world. Hypocrisy, thy name is Bollywood!
Big B
Man who was "neither Tanushree nor Nana" kept failing us
Even if you keep their business interests aside, you are appalled by their blatant disregard of truth in their own industry. They call themselves a fraternity, but the head of their family doesn't understand their pain. Apparently, he has to be either Tanushree or Nana Patekar to even lend his rather fragile support. As Oscar Wilde said, "Truth is rarely pure, and never simple."
Personal
And, here is something to ponder about
Meanwhile, everyone who is questioning survivors' silence "But, why is she speaking up after 20 years?", here's a thing: Ask these Bollywood guys, why were they silent? What was their trauma? Were they scared of their own dark secrets or are they generally this inhuman?
Pressure, much?
How have they suddenly become so woke?
But, what has changed now? Why is the entire "fraternity" so vocal about it? After years of working together, how did Akshay Kumar and his wife realize that Sajid Khan is a pathetic human being? (As an aside, I read somewhere - And you thought Sajid's movies were the worst thing about him.) How did the 'intellectual' Aamir Khan (who could even decode the malpractices of doctors) decide to cut off ties with Subhash Kapoor now? You know what happened - we happened, 1 billion of us 'very angry' Indians happened.
The loudest No
But, do we want their support now?
Now that an average Indian woman (who is not 'Angry Indian Goddesses') is calling out her predators without an ounce of fear, why do even need the support of Bollywood? If they want to clean their industry, they can speak up. If they don't want to, they can rejoice in their male chauvinist ways. It is a civil disobedience movement, and everyone is a warrior. Their 'Manikarnika' can keep her selective outrage to herself.