Tanushree Dutta was Bollywood’s #MeToo moment; it passed by

It mustn’t be easy to be Tanushree Dutta these days. When she recounted the sexual harassment she had faced on a film set 10 years ago, she was dismissed as a publicity-hungry out-of-work woman, derided for raising this issue when she wore skimpy clothes for the camera (that the distinction still has to be explained shows the long road ahead), or threatened. A week later, she faces the full wrath of the accused, a belligerent political party, a minister of the Maharashtra government, and disdain from some big names of Bollywood.

Dutta, a former beauty pageant winner, and actor — targeted by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena — has since been provided with armed guards of the Mumbai Police, and has reportedly been sent a legal notice by Nana Patekar’s lawyers for accusing him. Deepak Kesarkar, Maharashtra’s minister of state for home, clarified that the protection “was not against Patekar”. See the alignment?

In her second telling of her story, Dutta referred to the #MeToo movement, which had pulled the lid off a pandemic of sexual harassment by some of the big boys in Hollywood. But this is far from Bollywood’s #MeToo moment, let alone a movement.

Dutta is not the first Hindi film actress to have accused a co-star of going beyond the respectable limits and norms of co-working space. She is unlikely to be the last. Her story and how it played out shows the grime and silence behind the gossamer in the film industry. The atmosphere on film sets can be toxic and anti-women; sexual harassment is part of Bollywood’s reality, say a number of women professionals in it. Yet, the #MeToo movement remains still-born.

Anecdotes and off-the-record stories by women writers, actors, cinematographers, journalists, and others show that it is not a safe workplace for women – all women including the extras. But for a revolutionary movement to take off, it would require top-drawer actors to call out offending men irrespective of their stature and age; for survivors to fearlessly share their stories; for professional associations to back the women; and for civil society groups to amplify their voices in the interest of gender justice.

Dutta did receive support from some actors – Richa Chadha, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Renuka Shahane, Frieda Pinto, Pooja Bhatt, Farhan Akhtar, Varun Dhawan – but Bollywood’s big men played safe or cute. Her story had to be corroborated by a journalist and an assistant director to be even partially accepted. Amitabh Bachchan said he wasn’t Dutta or Patekar (so much for his awesome influence and those gender-sensitive letters to his granddaughters); Aamir Khan wanted to know more, and Salman Khan mocked the woman journalist who asked him the question.

The non-support or fence-sitting happens because of the persons accused. Patekar is a man of formidable acting talent and an impressive social service record, also one with a temper and dark side (as Shahane pointed out), and political network. The choreographer Dutta accused is a high-profile man in the industry. They have denied harassing Dutta; Patekar even asked, “What’s sexual harassment?” They are believed more than Dutta is.

The Cine and TV Artistes Association, the professional body, admitted on Tuesday that its decision taken on Dutta’s complaint in July 2008 “was not appropriate as the chief grievance of sexual harassment wasn’t even addressed”. But it cannot re-open the case because it’s time-barred. It appealed to appropriate authorities to take up the case, whatever that means. Will the worthy stars and MNS now change their attitude to her story? Will they say “I believe Tanushree Dutta”?

It is a bit odd that Dutta has not received greater support from women’s organisations. Workplace harassment is an issue irrespective of the place of work, or so they have been saying. The film industry not being an organised sector would mean that Vishakha guidelines and the law on sexual harassment would not directly apply. Should Dutta choose the legal route, it is going to be a long, painful, and excruciatingly traumatic road ahead. She could do with more support and greater amplification from women’s groups.

Even so, one case does not a movement make. Bollywood’s yet another #MeToo moment just passed us by.